Bellissia's Changing
by ShelbyBlack
Summary: Once Bella, a New Yorker, is left alone, she must live with her cousin, Remus Lupin. Will she be able to survive Hogwarts, Sirius, and Snape? SBOC mainly, some LEJP and RLOC CH 12 up Feb 5!
1. A New Family

The summer of 1977 was a hot one in New York City. The hottest on record. But despite the heat, Bellissia Angenelo was walking outside. She was saying goodbye to the Italian neighborhood that she had grown up in. She wiped a tear from her eye as she looked up at her apartment building she had lived in for so long. The bricks were old and worn down, as was everything else in the area. Her eyes slid next door to the pizza shop her grandfather owned. She had just recently said a tearful goodbye to her grandparents. They were her favorite people in the world. Their stories of "the old country" were know throughout the town. Well, New York was no small town, but in the Italian Quarters, everyone felt like family.

She was leaving her beloved city behind. She would be living in England. England! She had never heard of a stupider idea. All this happed when her stupid father landed himself in the slammer. Reason? He killed a guy. Bellissia had no idea who the guy was or why. She would NEVER forgive her father. Her mother had been dead since she was four years old. When her father had been carted off his last wish was that Bellissia move to England to live with these relatives and "continue her education." She had snorted at this remark. Yeah, like anyone's going to listen to that psycho. But her grandparents had upheld her father's wishes. So here she was, one-way ticket, hotpants and all, saying goodbye to everything she ever knew.

Hailing a cab in NYC was easy if you were hot enough. In more ways than one. Luckily, Bellissia's mother had given her her fiery temper, long legs and perfect figure. She was naturally tanned and her dark hair was slightly curly. She jogged to the middle of the street as fast as her platform shoes could carry her. Upon putting her hand in the air, two cabs screeched to a halt. She threw herself into the nearest one after stowing her luggage in the trunk. And with one sad nod to her old life, she rode towards the airport.

Antonia Angenelo-Lupin stared out the window anxiously. Her husband Phineas "Finny" Lupin was pacing. They were watching for their son Remus. He was supposed to go to the muggle airport today to pick up their new family member. They had gracioiusly accepted responsibility for Antonia's brother's daughter, Bellissia. All they knew about the girl was that she was a seventeen-year-old Italian orphan from New York City. Just Remus's age. Remus had begged to go to the airport alone to pick up Bellissia. Well, not completely alone. Two of his best friends, James Potter and Sirius Black were comming along as well. Then the four of them, Bellissia included, would stay at the Lupin House for two weeks before going to Hogwarts. They did not know for sure if Bellissia was magical, but Dumbledore had told them that Bellissia would be welcome either way.

Finny glanced over at his wife and smiled. "You look so beautiful," he said. She just grinned and blew him a kiss.

Sirius Black was starting to get extremely impatient. They had been waiting there for an hour, and muggle places always kind of gave him the creeps. It must have been the pureblood in him.

"Moony, I already don't like this girl. She isn't very considerate of other people, making us wait like this," he grumbled.

"Relax, Padfoot it's not her fault. What if something happened?" James replied.

"Erg, don't say things like that Prongs. I'm getting this horrible picture of a plane crash and I don't like it one bit," Remus shuddered.

They stood in silence for another five minutes before a loudspeaker said, "Now arriving in gate 22, flight 576 from New York."

The trio perked up and made their way to gate twenty-two to find it crowded with people freshly unloaded from the plane. One gorgeous girl with tan skin, silky dark hair and a glittery halter top parted from the crowd. James was first to spot her. He whistled under his breath. "Wheew, take a look at _her._" Lupin and Sirius turned their heads and saw the girl pull out a piece of paper and study it. "My god, those shorts don't leave much to the imagination, do they?" chuckled Sirius. Lupin however looked slightly annoyed. He immediately recognized her as Bellissia Angenelo and was feeling very protective of her at the moment. "Guys, that's her, that's Georgio's daughter."

"Man, Moony, you never told us your cousin was a babe!" James replied.

Remus ignored this and made his way over to her. Bellissia glanced over her shoulder to see a very angry sandy-haired boy walking her way with two black haired boys following him. Her eyes grew wide. "Remmy!!! It's so good to see ya! You look so much different than I thought!" she screeched as she flung her arms around Remus's neck.

"Nice to see you, too Bella!" His anger faded a bit as he pecked her on the cheek. "These are two of my best friends, James Potter" he gestured to the boy with glasses and hair that stuck up all over, "and Sirius Black." the handsome boy with messy black hair gave a lopsided grin after giving her the up and down. She just giggled and waved to the boys. She was used to guys checking her out. "Guys, this is Bellissia. You'll meet our other best friend, Peter Pettigrew, at school," he finished.

"How are we getting to Lupin House, Remmy?" Bellissia asked.

"My parents' car."

"Killer."

"Excuse me?" his eyebrows shot up.

"Neat," she corrected, rolling her eyes.

James and Sirius walked ahead so the two could catch up on each other's lives.

"So, Bella, how have you been?" his eyes narrowed with concern.

"Oh, you know me, Remmy, I live and let live. Always a silver lining." she smiled, but Remus noticed it looked forced.

"I just worry about you."

She looked shocked. "Why?"

"Well look at what you're wearing! Did you forget pants?"

"Remmy! You're just like Grandmama! They're hotpants. All the cool people in NY wear them! Especially the ones that go to Studio 54." she added dreamily.

"Bellissia Maria Angenelo! Tell me you don't go to those terrible discos!"

"Of course I don't! I couldn't get into Studio 54 if I tried! Did you know they once turned away Liza Mennelli?"

"I don't care if they turned away the Minister of Ma-" but he stopped himself. He didn't know if she knew about the magical world. She looked at him questioningly but shrugged it off.

"I appreciate it, really, Remmy, but I already have a father."

"Fat lot of good he can do you now." She glared at him and sped up.

"Bella, wait! I'm sorry! That was out of line! Please!" he called, but she was tearing through the airport crashing into anybody and everybody. Remus sighed and took off after her. What happened to James and Sirius?

She was running in no particular direction. All the tears that she had been told to hold in when her mother died and the tears that she never cried when her father was taken away started pouring down her cheeks like a dam had been removed from a river. Her platformed shoe hit something and she felt her body pitch forward. She didn't care anymore about anything or anyone. She almost hoped she smashed her face into the ground. It would give her something else to cry about. But just before she hit, a pair of strong hands lifted her up and stood her on her feet. She tried to get away but they held her tight through her struggling. She looked up to see messy black hair and a pair of crystal blue eyes staring back at her. The Black boy. She struggled even more but with firm hands he steered her to the baggage claim area. She pointed to a purple duffle, and he picked it up and swung it over his shoulder with one hand, grabbed her wrist and with the other and walked her rather forcefully to a silver car. They waited in silence for a good minute or two before James and Remus came galloping towards them.

"Bella what the hell were you thinking?! You can't just run off like that! Lucky Sirius found you!" Remus shouted.

She looked up at him angrily with puffy red cheeks and racoon eyes from her mascara. "Let's just get in the car, OK?" said Sirius. Remus nodded and the four of them climbed inside. Remus driving with James shotgun and Sirius and Bellissia behind them. They were all quiet until Remus said, "How about some ice-cream, eh?" For the first time, Bellissia gave a true smile. One that lit up her darker-than-ebony eyes. "That sounds great."

_Man, that Bella chick is crazy_ thought Sirius Black. _One minute she's arguing with Remus, next she's sobbing, next she's all happy. What's her story?_

_Sirius is so hot, especially when he saved me from smashing my face, _thought Bellissia Angenelo._ But I don't know if I like all this man-handling. I'm an independent woman!_

_Bellissia is FINE but Lilly's better. She's more...real_ James Potter thought. _I can talk to her about anything and she's so nice to everybody. Even that idiot Snape!_

_This is not going how I pictured at ALL _Remus Lupin thought._ First my friends drool over her, then I make her cry. I bet she loooves England so far!_

Remus pulled the car into a muggle diner. "It's the best place for sundaes this side of London!" he exclaimed. Bellissia grinned and followed the boys into this shabby restaurant.

Once everyone had their ice creams they began to talk about anything nonmagic. Sirius seemed facinated with the fact that she came from a long line of Italians and that her grandparents owned a pizza place. James told her about how they were the school pranksters and that they were known as Maurauders. She seemed very interested with the school so Remus quickly filled her in on how his parents were doing and how his mother made excellent pasta thanks to Bella's grandmother. They all left the diner as friends and drove towards Lupin House.

When they arrived it was dark and Mrs. Angenelo-Lupin rushed outside to greet them. She was a petite lady who looked almost identical to Bellissia and had a temper to match. Remus had been very embarassed to find out that after his mother had picked him up on Platform 9 3/4 after his first year, a couple of seventh-years had wolf-whistled before Mr. Lupin showed up protectively behind her. She gave each teen a kiss on each cheek and threw her arms around Bellissia. "I am so glad to see you, Bellissia, darling. If there is anything at all you need, don't hesitate. You're one of the family." Remus winked at her and took her bag inside. James and Sirius followed suit.

"I know this must be so hard for you, but if you need a woman to talk to, I'm here. It's so great to get another girl in this house! I'm always outnumbered! Well we'll still be outnumbered, but at least I have one female ally!" she decared and with great enthusiasm, she pulled Bellissia inside the house.

"Thanks Mrs...um..." Bellissia broke off.

"Antonia is fine Bella."

"Thank you Antonia."

Antonia smiled. "Now don't you worry, you'll have your own room and the boys can all sleep in Remus's room. I'm sure they will all be waiting in their room so you go ahead and join them, first door and to the right."

Bellissia thanked her again and walked toward the boys' room. _That woman talks at about a mile a minute! She's nice though. I like her_ she said to herself. Just then, all three boys popped out from their room. She was so startled she staggered back a few feet.

"GOTCHA!" James said, laughing.

"You guys!" she screeched, but it was too late they had grabbed her arms and pulled her into their room, shutting the door.

"OK, we have a question to ask you." James began. "It's very serious. Answer truthfully."

"James, don't--" Remus began but Sirius put a hand up to silence him.

"Here we go." James continued. "The question is, do these words mean anything to you: _wingardium leviosa._"

The three boys stared at her, sitting on the edge of their seats. It was what they had been dying to find out. Was Bellissia a witch or not? Bellissia studied them hard. What if they didn't know what it meant either! If she said it was a simple spell to levitate an object, they might pull a Salem on her. She couldn't afford that. Maybe she should just play dumb. Or answer with a question. Yeah that's a good idea.

"It does if _Avada Kedavra_ scares the living daylights out of you," she answered. James's stony face broke into a smile. Remus and Siruius sighed with relief.

"Oh thank God." Sirius said. "For a while we thought you were a muggle. See we're wizzards. So is Mr. Lupin. We had no idea if you were since you were from America and Mrs. Lupin--"

"Mrs. Angenelo-Lupin" Remus corrected.

"Right, her. She's a muggle. We go to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Did you go to a magical school in New York?"

"Yeah, I did. It was called Indigorio Institute. We didn't board there, though since everyone lived so close to it. Do you board at Hogwarts?"

"Uh huh, there are dormitories we stay in." Remus answered.

"Oooh!" she wiggled her eyebrows. "So who has a girlfried? Remmy I bet you do! You're so sweet, any girl would love you!" Remus blushed and mumbled incoherently.

"Oh, _Remmy_ don't leave her hangin! He's been going out with a girl named Annette Canterby since last Christmas!"

"Thanks, James," Remus replied sarcastically. "At least Annie likes me! You just dream about Lily all the time!"

"That hurts, Moony."

"What about you, Sirius. Do you have a special friend?" Bella pressed.

Sirius shrugged. "Not at the moment, but I usually do."

"Sirius has his own fanclub at Hogwarts," Remus said with a snicker.

"I do not!" Sirius said heatedly.

"Yeah, he's quite popular with the ladies!" James added laughing.

"What can I say? Who wouldn't want a piece of this?" he returned to his cool, nonchalant manner.

Bellissia laughed and threw a pillow and and hit him in the head. His face turned to a look of shock.

"Oooh, yankee, you're going down!" he declared. Soon all four of them were in a vicous pillow fight that ended only when Mr. Lupin opened the door and stated that while he was glad everyone had met and was having fun, his goal for tonight was to get at least _some _sleep. He then showed Bellissia to her room where she collapsed on her bed and promptly fell asleep.


	2. Now You're a Lupin

Bellissia woke up feeling better rested than she had felt in weeks. For a brief moment, she thought it was a dream. She was just at Grandmama's for the week-end; but, no. She was not with that kindly old lady and her equally ancient husband. It was better. She was with her cousin Remus and the Lupins. Already she felt more than at home. They were her new family. The holes her mother's death and her father's arrest had made were slowly being filled in, but she would never be completely the same. However, Bellissia was not thinking about her mother and father, but she was thinking about the delicious smells of breakfast washing through her room. She got up and walked downstairs, re-tying her pajama pants and adjusting her tank top. She was a rough sleeper.

With a last tighten of her ponytail, she emerged, yawning, into the kitchen. She found Remus and Antonia deep in conversation. Remus looked up and smiled at her when he stepped in the door.

"Well, good morning Bellissia!" Antonia started. "I had no idea you were an early riser as well! Finny, Sirius, and James probably won't be up for another hour or so. Coome, sit down. I've made hotcakes!"

Remus chuckled. "Mom, you talk so fast I doubt she caught any of that!"

"I understand perfectly, thank you Antonia. I will have some breakfast." She pulled out the chair next to Remus and sat down. "How are you this morning?"

"I'm wonderful, thank you Bella. Do you mind if I call you Bella? Bellissia is kind of long."

"I don't mind one bit, _Remmy_." They smiled at each other as Antonia banged around, reheating hotcakes and pouring milk. At last, Remus spoke.

"Bella, I'm really glad you came here. Did you know I always wanted a little sister?"

"Aww, that's sweet Remmy, but I'm only six months younger than you!"

"You know what I mean!"

"I do know what you mean, I'm just joshing you. Actually, I always wanted a big brother." Remus smiled. "And a mother," Antonia looked up, tears rimming her dark eyes.

"As long as the sun rises at dawn, so you are welcome here, _mio dolce._" She then swooped on Bellissia and before either knew what was going on, Antonia had caught Bella in a big, warm, motherly hug. Bella, a little startled, wasn't sure how to react. She then hugged back, with one arm and with the other pulled an amused Remus into the hug as well. Antonia welcomed him in. The Hug bound the three of them closer than ever. They all stood there for some time until they heard the sound of someone clearing their throat. They broke apart and was Finny wearing a bemused expression.

"Antonia," he said, with mock anger. "Why wasn't I invited to the Lupin family hug?"

"Mr. Lupin, you mean the Angenelo and Lupin hug?" Bellissia said, wiping a tear from the corner of her right eye.

"No, Bella, you are a Lupin now."

Later that day, after James and Sirius finally surfaced, the kids were shooed to the backyard because Mrs. Angenelo-Lupin had friends coming for luncheon and wanted them out of the way whilst she cooked. Mr. Lupin had left for work quickly after The Hug.

So, the four of hem went outside into the sunshine. James and Sirius brought their matching Nimbus '76s. Remus and Bellissia brought a tray of lemonade and a plate of cookies. The first two immediately kicked off the ground and began tossing an orange back and forth, practicing chasing. Remus dragged two lawn chairs off the porch and into the sun. As soon as Bella realized how nice it was outside, she ran indoors and came back a moment later wearing sunglasses and a striped bikini. She planned on taking full advantage of the sunny day. When he saw her, Remus cracked up.

"Laugh all you want, Remmy, but we'll see who's laughing when I get tanner and you get mistaken for a ghost!"

"Oh, and who will be laughing when you get sunburned beyond recognition?" he snorted.

Bella jokingly pushed him, but a little harder than she would have normally. When he realized his chair was tipping, he grabbed both of her arms and pulled her down as well. She fell, laughing, on top of him. They laid there, sprawled out and laughing, until Bella stood up and helped Remus, too.

Sirius had watched the scene unfold from high above on his broomstick. He couldn't help but feel more than a little jealous of Remus. He always knew Bella was attractive, based on his discreet studies at the airport and during the pillow fight, but now that she was strutting around in a pink and green bikini, his suspicions had been confirmed: Bella had the most perfect body of any girl he had ever seen. It's not that she was especially skinny, or really hippy, she was well-proportioned and just beautiful. He knew the love between Remus and his perfect cousin was platonic-they were cousins after all!-but it nagged at him that he didn't really have a female friend to talk about things with or to feel protective about. He soon came to the conclusion that he wanted nothing more in the world than to have been Remus right then, but instead of allowing her to help him up, he would have caught her up and kissed her forever.

"Hey, HEY! Padfoot? Are you there? Heads up!" James shouted.

"Huh?" but he was too late before he knew it, the orange was headed his way at about a hundred miles per hour.

SCHMACK!

Sirius was socked right in the stomach with the speeding fruit. He gripped his broom for dear life and managed to make it to the ground. He couldn't breathe! He was going to die! Was this some higher power punishing him for lusting after his friend's cousin? Things were getting kind of fuzzyâ€can't hold on much

"Sirius oh my God are you alright?" her harmonious voice snapped him back to. He opened his eyes and discovered to his delight his head was laying in Bella's lap. She was sitting on the ground, messing with his dark hair and fussing over him. He could get used to this!

"Where is everyone?" he questioned, groggily.

She pushed back her own hair and smiled down on him. "They went to find Antonia. What happened Siri?"

Sirius smiled. He had always hated it when his own cousin, Tonks, had called him that, but Bella could call him anything she wanted. "I'm not entirely sure. I just remember zoning out and then being pounded in the stomach with an orange."

"Well I saw you fall off your broom. It was so high up! When you started falling, my heart stopped! I'm glad you're not hurt worse. Just a few scrapes and bruises. This should teach you to keep focused on the game at all times. Let your mind wander for one second and someone could get hurt. Oh good, here they are with ice!"

Sirius mentally cursed James and Remus for returning so soon, but the look Remus gave him was enough to humble his attitude.

"Bella, why don't you let us take it from here? See Mum coming, she's got some stuff to put on Sirius."

"Wait, Remus, I'm not letting your mom put muggle medicine on me! That stuff never works! Can't someone just heal me with magic? Please?" He looked around desperately, but to no avail. James and Bella were too busy giggling to pay him any mind and Remus just looked at him and told him none of them were allowed to do magic outside of school.

"Don't worry Sirius, this shouldn't hurt much," Antonia began. "But I must warn you this one will sting the cuts, but we have to use it to keep them clean."

"What do you mean-OWW!"


	3. Mass

**Thank you reviewers. I do not own HP. Sorry for a relatively short chapter. I hate Author's Notes.**

The rest of the summer flew by. Bellissia grew closer to the Lupins than she had been to her own father, and they welcomed her with open arms, especially Antonia. Bella was so reminded of her parents when she saw Antonia. The woman looked like her father, with her tan skin and silky-straight hair, but her mannerisms and ways were just like that of her mother, or at least what Bella remembered of her mother. She missed them, but she feared she would miss the Lupins more when she left for school. Fortunately, Remus, James and Sirius would be going with her. They had grown to be almost like her brothers, especially Remus. They were certainly protective of her. Once when they were walking around the muggle neighborhood, some punk and his friends started wolf-whistling and cat-calling Bella. The looks on the boys' faces was priceless. Sirius and James went for their wands to "curse the smirk off their faces," but Remus and Bellissia quickly intervened.

The night before September the first, Antonia insisted everyone go to mass to pray for a safe journey. Bellissia, also being a devout Catholic, was more than happy to oblige. She also secretly wanted to light a candle for her mother. The rest of the family, however, was completely against it.

"Mum, James and Sirius aren't even Catholic! They aren't even familiar with muggle religion! It'd be weird because they wouldn't get it," Remus protested.

"Tony, honey, I know it's our family's tradition, but the boys will feel a bit awkward," Phineas said.

"You know I really don't mind," Sirius told the Lupins, earning him a jab in the side from James. "I think it would be neat to see."

"Trust me, it's not neat, it's boring!" Remus said. Bellissia laughed.

"Oh, come on, it's not that bad. The worst is when the Priest does the whole service in Latin. Now that gets confusing!" she said.

"Well, at St. Mary's mass is done in Italian at five and English at seven. I thought we could go to the seven and then stay a little while afterwards," Antonia said, chancing a meaningful look towards Bellissia.

Finally James said, "Alright, I'm game." And they were off.

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The six of them arrived at the church without a moment to spare. They had to grab seats in the back to avoid disrupting the clergyman's schpiel. Bellissia ended up wedged between Remus and Sirius in a space that was clearly meant for two very thin people. She sat back and let the old man's words wash over her. Her religious peace didn't last long, as Sirius kept asking her questions about communion and baptism. Just when she thought she was going to snap at him, the assembly was dismissed. The room was quickly cleared. Only a few elderly ladies who kept scowling at Bella's low cut shirt remained. They all split up to look around. Bella suspected Antonia knew she wanted to be alone, as she led Sirius off to show him the bells. Bella wandered to the dimmest corner of the cathedral, where there were hundreds of small, white candles. She crossed herself in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit and took a candle. She lit it with another, kneeled, and began to pray. She prayed for her dead mother, her deadbeat father, her grandmother and grandfather, Phineas, Antonia, and Remus Lupin, James and Sirius, but mostly she prayed she could succeed in her new school and that she could forgive her father. She was rocking back in forth, so concentrated on her prayer, she did not even hear the little old man walk up behind her.

"My child, what is the reason for your prayers? God sees all, and He can forgive all."

Startled, Bella stood up. "Father! I...I pray for many things, such as my mother. She has passed on and I pray for her and for my family."

"Child, your mother is in a better place, and I know her loved ones realize this. Tell me, what is your name? I have not seen you here as of late."

This man made her feel about half of her age. He was so kind and fatherly. She pasued before answering, "Bellissia Angenelo. I just moved here to live with my cousin Remus Lupin and my Aunt Antonia and Uncle Finny."

"Bellissia, Lei sono Italiano?" (Are you Italian?)

"Si, sono un poco fuori di pratica, nonostante" (Yes, but I am out of practice.)

"Essere audace, le forze potentementi verranno al suo aiuto." (Be bold, the mighty forces will come to your aid.)

"Wait, father, I thought priests quoted the Bible, not Goethe."

"With God, all things are possible," he said with a wink. He then turned and walked towards alter.

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Back at the Lupin house, everyone was preparing for bed. Sirius was telling anyone who would listen about the belfry and the nun he met there. Bellissia went to her room earlier than everyone else in hopes of getting more sleep. She laid there for a while, just thinking about the sermon and Hogwarts and everything else that was happening. After an hour or so, she heard a soft knock on her door. Slightly shocked, she whispered, "come in."

The door swung forward and her sandy-haired cousin Remus tiptoed inside. She grinned at him.

"I just wanted to see how you were doing. I remember how scared I was the night before my first day of Hogwarts."

"Thank you Remmy. I'm really nervous, but I'm hanging in there."

"Good, well, sweet dreams." He turned to leave, but Bellissia held out her hand and grabbed a hold of his white t-shirt.

"Remmy, will you stay with me until I fall asleep...I, um, my father used to do that for me when I was nervous, and I, you know, miss it."

Remus broke into a smile. "Of course I will, Bella."

Bellissia scooted over to make room for him in her queen bed. He gingerly crawled under the sheets. She smiled and scooted close to him.

"You know, I love you, right cuz?" she asked.

"Yeah."

They both closed their eyes and did not open them until the next morning, bright and early.


	4. Back to School

Antonia walked around the house as quietly as she could. It was a little early to start breakfast, so she thought for a moment she might check that everyone had packed last night like she asked. Her first stop was the boys' room. She saw three brown trunks sitting upright on one wall. She smiled and searched for her beloved son. All she saw, however, was two tufts of black hair sticking out of the covers. No Remus. Her motherly instincts went into high gear. She (thankfully) suppressed her urge to wake the house and send a search. Instead, she tiptoes down the hall, ears perked and alert, for any sound. She came to Bellissia's room and, on a whim, opened the door. Her face broke into a sad smile as she saw her son and niece sound asleep. Seeing them brought back memories of times when she was in school with her big brother Georgio. He used to come in and check on her. He tried to protect her from everything. At the time, she pushed him away. He didn't trust any of her friends, and he especially didn't like Phineas. He saw Finny as a threat to his baby sister's welfare. Magic scared him, and he felt it should scare Antonia, too. She was shocked when she heard he sent his only daughter to live with her and Finny. She was even more shocked when she found out Bellissia was a witch. With these thoughts all rushing through her head like cars on a freeway, she gently woke Remus and Bellissia with a kiss each on the forehead. Remus stirred and sat up.

"Oh, morning, Mum. I just came in to check on Bella last night and I guess I fell asleep."

"Don't worry about it, _mio tesoro_. Do you two want to get up and help me with breakfast?"

Bellissia yawned and stretched her arms high above her head. "Mmm, breakfast sounds good!"

"Alright, I'm going to the kitchen and the both of you need to take a shower and meet me down in thirty minutes, alright?"

"Ok," they chorused.

Twenty five minutes later Bellissia and Remus padded down the stairs towards the kitchen. Bellissia's hair was still damp and sticking to her black cropped shirt. Remus had never noticed before, but now he could clearly see a ruby-colored belly-button stud. Antonia waved them in and set each to word on a waffle iron. Soon they were cranking out waffles faster then Antonia could mix more batter. The waffles smells drifted through the house and before too long, Finny, Sirius, and James were shuffling in with wild morning hair and hungry looks on their faces. Antonia laughed out loud, which sent Bellissia giggling, which made Remus chuckle, and soon everyone was laughing. As it died down, Antonia handed out plates and ice-waters. When everyone had two waffles and a lot of syrup on their plate, they all dug in.

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Loading up the car proved to be a very difficult task. Four seventeen year olds yielded enough luggage to equip a small army. Seating was another problem. There were four backseat riders and three seats in the back. When at last the adults forced all the luggage inside, Antonia threw up her hands and told the kids to suck it up and squish together. They all made a face, but got inside. James and Remus each had an end, with Sirius next to James and Bellissia next to Sirius and Remus. They were all quite grumpy until James said, "Well, I hope everyone used deodorant today!" Their icy moods melted away and they all began to talk and joke during the long drive to King's Cross Station. Bellissia tried not to be too sad to leave the Lupins as she watched them from the backseat. They smiled at each other often and Antonia frequently grabbed Finny's hand while it rested on the stick shift. Bella admired how in love Finny and Antonia were. She smiled and thought about how great it would be to find true love. Perhaps Hogwarts was just the place to start looking. Sirius noticed the direction of Bellissia's gaze.

"Aren't they just too sweet?" he whispered in her ear.

"I hope to find love someday," she answered.

"Me too."

Phineas stopped only once to get gas and allow a bathroom break. Inside the gas station Sirius kept teasing Bellissia and James pretended to steal her purse. Remus laughed as he watched Bellissia struggle and act mad. He knew she wasn't really upset, he could see the joy in her eyes. He eventually stepped in when he saw his father throw him and impatient, "We're late!" look. Back on the road they made good time and arrived at eight-thirty in the morning, thirty minutes before the train left. Phineas went to get a few trolleys and Antonia fussed over them until he returned.

"Bella, don't you want something a little, well, less revealing to wear for you big train ride?"

"No, Antonia, I'm just fine."

"James, your hair looks a-mess, could you—"

"There's no point Mrs. A.L., it never flattens," James said as he ran his fingers through his black mop to muss it up even more. Antonia sighed and turned to—

"Sirius, you've got a hole in your jeans!"

"I know, I put it there, I used a shaving razor. Want to see make another one?"

"Why? Why on earth would anyone purposefully rip their jeans?"

"Because it looks cool, Antonia!" Bellissia answered. Antonia just tutted and turned to Remus.

"Oh, no," he thought.

"Remus, you look wonderful!" she said as she approvingly eyed his sweater and khakis. "Always the perfect gentleman! You dress just how your father dressed at your age," she sniffed.

Phineas was back and he smiled when he saw Antonia wiping a tear from her eye and hugging their son. As soon as Remus was allowed to breathe, Finny let go of the trolleys and caught Antonia from behind around the waist and swung her around. She screeched and had a panicked look on her face, but as soon as she figured out it was her husband, she smiled and turned and kissed him smack on the lips. Finny pulled head closer, deepening the kiss until he heard his son.

"Mum! Dad! That's disgusting!" Remus half shouted right as James said "Cool Mr. L! I'll have to try that with Lily."

Sirius turned to Bella and mumbled, "If he does, we won't ever see him alive again." Bella stifled a laugh and allowed Sirius to help her load her trunk on a trolley. Once everyone's trunk was on wheels, they started off through the station. Remus spent the time talking to his parents and glaring at any guy staring at his mother's long legs or shiny, dark hair. James watched the muggles go about their business with interest and often said things out lout, to no one specific, such as "Wow, look at that, now that's something you don't see every day!"

Just as Bellissia was about to join Remus and his parents, Sirius held her back.

"Now, if I let you strike out in a busy train station all by yourself, what kind of friend would I be? Plus Remus might have a heart-attack. Come on, you can walk with me."

Bellissia smiled and said, "Sirius Black, I don't need and _man_ to protect me, but I would like someone to talk to."

The group walked through King's Cross and finally reached the platforms. Bellissia was handed a ticket by Mr. Lupin. She looked at it and sighed.

"Great, I got a bogus ticket. Where did you get these, Mr. L.? I'll go trade it."

"Bella, why do you thing it's wrong?" asked a grinning Mr. Lupin.

"Because some idiot made it read 'platform 9 ¾'. It's no big deal. Messed-up tickets get filtered through the sub system in the NY all the time..."

"It's not wrong, watch James."

James perked up and casually sauntered up to the wall between 9 and 10. He leaned against it, ruffling his hair, and—was gone. Sirius smiled at the look of surprise on Bellissia's face.

"Come on," he said as he grabbed her arm and pulled her towards the place James had

just disappeared from. Bellissia rolled her eyes, but followed suit and was soon standing sandwiched between James and Sirius.

"Uh, we better more or..." but James didn't even get to finish.

"ARG! Move out of the way!" Remus shouted as he pitched forward and fell on James who slammed into Bellissia who lost her balance and grabbed Sirius around the neck. The unsuspecting Sirius lost his footing and his legs slipped out from under him. To his (pleasant) surprise, Bellissia fell into his lap. Right at that moment they noticed Remus's parents standing next to the barrier, laughing. They all looked at each other and cracked up as well. Bellissia and Sirius chuckled and looked at each other. All of a sudden they became very aware of the other's presence and Remus glaring at them. Bellissia stood up quickly, blushing a little. Antonia flashed her a lop-sided grin. Mr. Lupin cleared his throat.

"Well, you kids better get on the train, find a compartment." They all found their trunks and started toward the Hogwarts Express. "Boys," Mr. Lupin called out. Remus, James, and Sirius all turned to look at him. "Take care of Bella." They boys all promised. Bellissia ran back toward Antonia and gave her a hug.

"Courage, _mio dolce, _I love you. Now go, have fun and write to me. You always know where I am," Mr. Lupin clapped her on the shoulder and gave her a small push in the direction of the train. Remus linked his arm with hers.

"Come on," he said as he pulled her and her trunk into the big red train. He pushed them past wide-eyed first years, and jaded third, new prefects, to finally the compartment containing James and Sirius. They, however, were not the only occupants of this eight-seater. There was a pudgy boy next to Sirius, a pretty, petite, blonde girl across from him and next to James, and an angry-looking redhead reluctantly sitting on James's other side. Upon their arrival, the blond broke into a huge smile which illuminated her whole face, and scooted over so the seat between her and James was open. Remus sat down and gestured for Bellissia to take a seat as well. She plopped down next to Sirius, across from the redhead, who discretely flicked her eyes up and down Bellissia and gave her a reproachful look when she was the low neckline. Bellissia grinned. Her mother had always told her to flaunt what she's got while she's got it.

"Well, everyone, this is my dear cousin Bellissia, she just came to live with me and my parents this summer from New York City," Remus introduced. "Bellissia, that's Lily Evans across from you, Peter Pettigrew on Sirius's right, and next to me here is Annette Canterby." Bellissia smiled at each one of them, but she smiled extra big for Annette, because, as she remembered, that was Remus's girlfriend. She also seemed to be her best bet for a girlfriend. Lily seemed too...stuffy for her. Peter Pettigrew was an odd boy. She didn't take an immediate liking to him, but as he was her cousin's friend, she thought she should give him a chance. The compartment was soon laughing and talking about school and how they spent their summer. Bellissia grew increasingly colder. Sirius noticed her discomfort and offered his sweater, but she refused. Finally, she announced she was just going to go change into her robes and school uniform. They all waved her out and pointed her in the direction of the ladies' room.

She had only given Antonia her sizes and trusted her with buying the clothes. The skirt was ungodly long (past her knees!), so she took out her wand and shortened it so it was now, in total, about six inches long. She also cuffed her white collared shirt sleeves until they hit just below her elbows. She hung her tie loosely around her neck, and threw her black robes around her shoulders. She then walked out into the corridor and made her way back to her compartment.

"My my, a newbie. What's your name, sweetheart?" Bellissia heard a low voice say. She ignored it. She was used to catcalls and whatnot back at home. She continued, unworried, until she felt a cold hand grab her arm. She whipped around to see a tall boy, about her age, with greasy black hair and a crocked nose. With surprising strength, he held her against a wall. She fought his grasp, but he only tightened his grip. "I asked you a question!"

"BELLA! SNIVELLUS, get your hands off her RIGHT NOW!" Sirius roared.

Snivellus, or Severus Snape, as she soon found out, made the wrong decision to loosen his grip for one second. In his momentary laps, Bellissia seized the opportunity to knee him as hard as she could in the crotch. He fell back onto the floor. Sirius sent a stunning spell his direction and ran over.

"Oh. My. God. Are you ok?" Sirius questioned, with a worried look in his eyes.

"Yeah, I'll survive."

"In that case I see you've met Snivellus. He fills the roll of the greasy git."

"I gathered that much." She took off her cloak and folded it into her arms; she was no longer cold. She began to walk back to the compartment. As she walked Sirius could not help but notice how her skirt teetered threateningly, just teasing him with the prospect of seeing what's underneath. Why did this girl drive him so crazy?

"Sirius, my knight in shining armor, are ya coming?" He nodded and followed her into their compartment.


	5. Nice Moves, Black

**Thank you for being patient everyone. It's been too long. I hope you enjoy this chapter. I loved writing it!**

Bellissia knew she was going to like Hogwarts. The minute she could first see the castle from the train, she gasped like an eleven-year-old. She loved the turrets, towers, and gothic styling. Her old school was just a building similar to her old apartment complex; simple and brick. This was breathtaking. She felt Remus looking at her.

"It's bewitched to look like an abandon warehouse to muggles."

"Wow," was all she could muster.

As the train screeched to a stop, she and Annie somehow got separated from Remus and the others. Annie said something to her, but it was impossible to hear over the chatter of the students, the notice of the carriages and the big man shouting "Firs' years!" The carriages caught her attention. Harnessed into them, like horses, were—thestrals. She shivered. She had only read about thestrals in her Magical Creatures books. She had hoped she would never have to see one. Annie noticed her odd expression and pulled her away from them. She yelled in Bellissia's ear.

"Don't worry, the thestrals are perfectly safe, the older kids ride in the carriages, but you have to ride in the boats with the first years. It's so you can be sorted into a house. Cross your fingers for Gryffendor!"

The girls waved bye to each other and headed their separate ways. She, of course, wanted to be Gryffendor like her cousin and his friends. She figured she'd get it too, from what she had heard about the houses. She was not evil, sure, she didn't mind teasing a bit or a nice joke, but that was no reason for her to be in Slytherin. She was not especially smart. She did alright grade-wise, but it's not like she would ever waste time studying when there was fun to be had! So Ravenclaw was out of the question. She didn't feel she belonged in Hufflepuff either, the catch-all house. She was NOT an "everybody else." She was Bellissia. She was the one who had the nerve to make out with any boy, and then never acknowledge him again. She took any dare. Always. She never backed out on her word. It there was anything she hated, it was liars. Gryffendor had to be her place. Her feet led her to the big, shaggy man with a lantern.

"Ah, new student, eh?" the giant man asked.

"Yeah, I'm Bellissia, Remus Lupin's—"

"Cousin, yes, I know. Dumbledore's told me. Well, hop in a boat, lassie!"

Gingerly, she climbed into a rowboat occupied only by a boy with blonde hair and thin glasses. He told her his name (John), but she quickly forgot it. She was so bad with names. Their boat crossed the lake and gave the newcomers the most spectacular view of the castle yet. When the ride was finally over, John scrambled out and graciously offered a hand to Bellissia. She grinned at his flushed cheeks as she slid her hand into his. When they were standing side-by-side, she felt very tall indeed. She was nearly a foot past him! The students clumped together in the entrance hall, waiting to be let in. Everyone looked nervous, especially what's-his-name.

"I better get into Gryffendor. All my family before me has, my mum, dad, and my sister. Do you know my sister? She's in seventh year. Her name is Annette, Annie? Bellissia smiled.

"Yes, I know her. I just met her on the train. She's dating my cousin Remus."

"Wow! Remus is your cousin! That's so cool! Annie always talks about him. He's a Prefect!" John said with awe. Bellissia suddenly regretted forgetting this kid's name. Was it Josh? No. Jeremy? No, it was shorter. Joe? That sounds right.

"Don't worry, Joe. I'm sure you'll get into Gryffendor. Hopefully that's where I'm headed as well." He smiled up at her. Mentally, she congratulated herself on give some kick-butt advice, and for remembering his name.

"Thanks, but my name's John."

As Bellissia cringed, she took back all of her mental praise and replaced it with a scolding for calling _John_ the wrong name. The students were all lead into the Great Hall by a man with a long silver beard and half-moon glasses. He introduced himself as Professor Dumbledore. He said a few words about the sorting, but, honestly, who was listening? Everyone was looking at the ceiling (which looked like the night's sky or at the many students looking at them. Bellissia scanned the room and quickly foundd her friends. She caught Remus's wave, James's smile, and Sirius's wink. She smiled back at all of them. She was John wave at Annie and her return the favor. Then the old man unfurled a long list and stepped aside to reveal a worn out hat resting on a tool. A large rip near the bottom of the hat opened wide and a strange song was emitted. He (assuming the hat was of the male gender) sang about the different houses and the founding of the school. When he finished, the hall burst into applause. Bellissia was impressed. Then, the professor began to read off the names from his list. Bellissia quickly figured out that the names were in alphabetical order. She prepared herself to go after "Allen, Brittany," but the next name called was "Boyd, Andrew." She stood there, slightly puzzled. She turned to her new friend, but right at that moment "Canterby, John," was called up. She wished him luck as he passed by. The hat was quiet for a while, but then shouted "GRYFFENDOR!" She saw her boys cheering loudly, especially Remus, as John went to sit down. Her mind then wandered to her previous dilemma. Perhaps she had been registered as "Bellissia Lupin." That was it. She waited and waited. Finally, "Kroner, Stephen" was called. Again, she braced herself. Again, she was disappointed. As Stephen stepped down and "Matterhorn, Wesley" came forth. Ok, that wasn't it. She kind of figured she would not be a Lupin. Antonia knew she wanted to keep her last name. Angenelo is a great last name. Antonia herself kept it too, kind of. The only explanation was that she had been forgotten. Pure and simple. Oh well. She would just wait patiently for the old man to finish, and then she would waltz up there, inform him that his list was faulty, and grab that hat. No big.

XXXXX

Back at the Gryffendor table, the Marauders were wondering why Bellissia was not being called.

"Maybe they forgot her," James mused.

"How could you forget about Bella?" Sirius asked him pointedly.

Remus chuckled. "I doubt she was forgotten. I'll bet Dumbledore's just saving her until the end. You know, introduce her and all. Make sure everyone know she's not just some first year."

"Hey!" John shouted, who was sitting next to Remus with only Annie separating them. "That girl's...nice," he said, a pink tinge rising in his cheeks.

"Looks like you may have some competition, Padfoot," James said as he punched Sirius in the arm. Sirius just laughed, but Remus swore he could see the same rose color in his face.

XXXXX

After the very last name on Dumbledore's list was called he rolled it up with a flick of his wand. Bellissia started purposefully marching toward him, but he put up a hand to stop her.

"Students, that is all the first years. However, we have one new addition to the seventh years. Bellissia Angenelo. Bellissia, I trust the students and staff members will welcome you kindly. Bellissia moved here over the summer from New York City. Now, if you please..." Dumbledore gestured to the hat. Bellissia slowly walked over to the stool taking confident strides. She purposefully looked at each table and gave her best, "You know you want me" smile. Look out the top of your eyes. Tilt your head slightly. Give a half-smile and make the rest of your face soft. Her shoulders were rolled back. She did everything just how her grandmother had taught her. Grandmother had been a beauty queen in Italy. When she reached the stool she knew she had the attention of every person in the hall focused directly on her. Well, at leas the attention of all of the boys, and that was how she liked it best. She perched herself on the stool and crossed her ankles. She then placed the hat on her head.

"Hello Miss Angenelo. How I remember your cousin and uncle! I see that sense of independence and the confidence," said a little voice in her head.

All she could think was "Will you put me in Gryffendor with Remmy?"

"Of course I'll put you in Gryffendor. All you have to do is ask." And then, out loud, the hat shouted "GRYFFENDOR!"

There was roar emitted from the Gryffendor table. Bellissia stood up, smoothed her skirt, took off the hat, and walked over to the boys, smiling her cocky smile. Remus caught her around the middle in a swinging hug. James and Sirius both high-fived her. Annie smiled, but it looked pretty forced. She was obviously jealous that her sorting had warranted much more attention from Remus than John's. John was positively beaming. As soon as Remus put her down she winked at him and messed up his blonde hair. She attempted to sit down, but there really wasn't much room. The boys tried to scoot to make room, but it was useless. She simply settled one butt-cheek on Remus's knee and one on Sirius's knee. It was not entirely comfortable, but, hey, it worked for the remainder of dinner. The food was delicious, but Bellissia felt Antonia could cook better. She voiced this opinion to Remus and he smiled and nodded in agreement. When the feast was over, they all started back to the dormitories. James and Lily had to lead the new students to the tower. Annie followed, dragging Remus, as well. Peter murmured something about the library. Sirius and Bellissia were alone. They started walking towards Gryffendor Tower, but Sirius decided now would be the perfect time for a tour of the castle. Bellissia readily agreed.

They walked all over, staying out way past curfew. When they finally made it to the tower, the common room was empty. Amid the stacks of books and the strewn school supplies, was an old-fashioned record player with a turntable and everything. Bellissia grinned.

"Hey now, that could be somebody's personal stuff, they might not want you messing with it," Sirius protested as Bellissia fingered the needle.

"What are you going to do, report me?" she said lowly. She dropped the needle onto the spinning record. The smooth voice of Billie Holliday filled the room. She closed her eyes and danced to the rhythm. She soon felt a pair of strong hands wrap around her waist. Unsurprised, she looked up at a pair of clear blue eyes gazing at her. She wrapped her arms around his neck and allowed herself to be moved around the room. His hands slipped from her waist down to her hips. He dipped her. As she came up she pressed her body onto his. Then she grabbed one of his hands. He raised his eyebrows. She nodded as he began to spin her. He stopped her with the other hand. Then he stretched her far out and whipped her back into his arms. The song ended. They were both breathing heavily, but they did not let go of each other.

"Nice moves, Black."

"Same to you, Angenelo." They looked at each other for a couple of seconds. Bellissia then jumped on him, wrapping her legs around his waist. She kissed him hard. Sirius, slightly shocked at first, soon recovered and grabbed her butt (partly to hold her up!). Bellissia's hands immediately went to his hair, messing it all up. Sirius staggered back and fell onto the couch, still passionately kissing Bellissia. Soon it turned from plain kissing to full-on tongue action. As, he no longer had to hold her up, his hands wandered to other regions. At last, they pulled away.

"Nice lips, Black." Bellissia whispered in his ear as she got up and walked toward the dormitory labeled "Seventh Year Girls." Sirius just gaped at her as she disappeared inside. Oh man, Moony was going to kill him!


	6. Cat Fights

It was official. Every girl at Hogwarts hated Bellissia. And every boy had the hots for her. Including Sirius. Ever since that dance/make-out session the first night in the common room, the two of them had been flirting shamelessly. They were careful, though. Still nobody knew of their, ahem, antics. No, the girls hated her for less obvious reasons. They felt very threatened by this new beauty. Even Annette, who knew full well Bellissia and Remus were cousins, could not help but feel a little paranoid Bella was going to steal him from her. So, consequently, she was on the receiving end of many glares and curses, although she was a quick draw and could easily defend herself against them. She also had the Marauders to watch her back.

About a week after September the first, Bellissia finally got her schedule down. She came to enjoy the breakfasts she spent with all of the crew, even if Lily and Annette tended to be less than courteous.

"Pass the butter," Lily growled in Bellissia's general direction.

"Here you are. Might I add you are looking particularly mean and spiteful this morning?" Bellissia shot back. At this, Lily lunged at her from around James and Sirius. Before anyone knew what was going on, Lily was on top of Bellissia with her wand pointed at her throat. Bellissia threw Lily off of her and sent a stunning spell flying her way. Lily dodged it and was about to mutter the Bat Bogey Hex, but a thin woman stepped in front of her. This woman was Professor McGonagall, their Transfiguration teacher and the head of Gryffindor house.

"Really, girls!" she said sternly. "Bellissia, I figured you would want to make a good impression at your new school! This is the third fight this week! And Lily! You are head girl! You should be setting a better example for your peers! Fifty points from Gryffindor and both of you have detention with me tonight!"

Lily was livid. James managed to drag her out of the Great Hall in order to calm her down before classes started.

"What did I ever do to her?" Bellissia wondered out loud.

"Don't you play stupid with us," Annette yelled. "I know what you're up to, you little whore!" She then stormed out of the hall. Remus stared after her, his mouth hanging open.

"What in the world is going on?" he asked.

"I don't know! It's been one week, and suddenly every girl wants to jump me!" she whined.

"And every guy wants to jump your bones, look at that Ravenclaw boy!" They all turned to see a fourth year boy winking at Bellissia and making what he obviously thought was a sexy pose. They all laughed out loud.

"Come on, they day can only get better," Sirius said as he offered her his arm. She slipped her own through it and quickly grabbed Remus's with her other arm. Remus grabbed Peter, and soon they were all skipping down the hall to Charms.

Bellissa tried, but she just couldn't concentrate on what the new professor said. Sirius had told her about the old charms teacher who had retired last year, a large woman by the name of Lilian Jacksmith. This new professor was short, so short in fact; he needed a stool to see over the podium. His name was Professor Flickflack, or Flackwit, or something like that. Again, why all the trouble with names?

When the bell finally rang to end class, Bellissia sighed with relief and went to gather her things. She saw a piece of parchment she had not noticed before laying on top of her desk. When she picked it up, she immediately recognized Sirius's handwriting and smiled. As she crumpled the note in her hand, she walked towards the door. She felt the glares of the Gryffindor girls on her back, so she turned and gave her biggest smile. She then glided out of the room, or as best she could with platforms on.

The note had said to meet in the east hallway with the large scenery painting. As she approached it, she thought about him. What was really going on between them? She certainly liked him a lot, but she couldn't decide if it was because he was drop-dead gorgeous, completely hilarious with a great personality, or if it was because he was totally off-limits, thanks to the over-protective Remus. She continued to think until she reached the end of the hall. Where was he? She would kill him if he made her walk all the way over her for nothing. Just as she was about to leave, she felt a pair of strong hands grab her around the waist and on the mouth. The hands backed her up against the wall. Just as she was about to go from panic mode to hit and run mode, she was that pair of liquid blue eyes and that mop of black hair. At this, Sirius pressed his lips to hers. What started out as a soft(ish) (semi)innocent kiss, quickly turned hot and heavy. After a few minutes, Bellissia pulled away (but not far enough to remove his hands from her back).

"What are we doing, Sirius?"

"What do you mean what are doing? We're making out and really enjoying it!"

"No, baby, I mean are we just going to go for it?"

"Hell yeah!" And Sirius moved his hands to the hem of her shirt. Bellissia grabbed them.

"You know what I mean! Are we official? Are you just going to go slutting off with other girls?"

"_Slutting off?_"

"Just answer the question!"

"Bellissia, you're my girl. My _only_ girl," he moved in until their foreheads were touching. "Do you want me to be official?"

Bellissia smiled. "Yes I do."

Sirius kissed her neck and she giggled. "Bellissia Maria Angenelo, will you be my girlfriend?"

"Of course, you crazy, but you know we have to be careful. Remus will go postal if he finds out we're together, I mean it!"

"We'll be careful," and at that, they continued where they left off.

It was lunchtime before Sirius and Bellissia surfaced. Her hair had gone from a polished low ponytail to loose, wild, and all-over messy waves. Sirius's hands couldn't seem to stay out of it, it felt like silk, just like he knew it would. They walked to the Great Hall hand in hand until they got to the doors. Bellissia self-consciously smoothed her hair and tugged on the hem of her skirt. Sirius just grinned his cocky grin and pushed the doors open. They easily found James and the others and they sat down in two empty seats across from him and Remus.

"Where have you two been?" Remus demanded.

"Gosh, _Dad,_ we've been in the hospital wing." Bellissia sighed. She was a very smooth liar. A trait she had picked up from Luca, one of her past boyfriends.

"Yeah, Bella was feeling ill and she wanted to have Madame Pomfrey check her out," Sirius piped up.

"Sirius was sweet enough to walk me down there. Remmy, you have such great friends!" Bellissia said.

"Bellissia, you didn't seem si-" James began until he received a sharp kick in the shin from Sirius. "-like you were feeling so well. In fact, you still seem a bit peaky-"

"Well, here, each some chicken," Remus said as he began piling food on Bellissia's plate.

"But I'm not that-"

"Nonsense, _eat_."

* * *

That night Bellissia was doing homework before detention in the common room. She was sitting on the couch, still in her Hogwarts uniform. The room was pretty empty, only a couple of firsties sitting at a corner table. She heard someone on the stairs and turned around. There stood Sirius. She immediately brightened and pushed her homework on the floor. He walked over and sat on the couch next to her, and pulled her thing figure into his lap. He intertwined his fingers with her and looked at her; and they both started laughing.

"I thought Remus was going to make you eat all the food in the Great Hall!"

"I thought James was going to blow it for us!"

They continued to laugh until Sirius said, "You know, since you're sick, maybe I should check you over. Make sure it's nothing serious."

"Go ahead, doctor," she purred. "I have had a stomach ache."

He lightly pushed her onto her back and climbed on top of her. "I'll take a look." He pushed her shirt up and kissed her tummy.

"And I've been getting some pains in my shoulder." He unbuttoned the top couple buttons of her white shirt and planted kisses from the top of her arm to the base of her neck. He hesitated for a second, then kissed her neck until she turned her head and met his lips. They were getting pretty into it: Sirius's hands were all through Bellissia's hair and Bellissia's legs were wrapped around Sirius's. All of a sudden, they heard voices coming from outside the portrait hole. They laid there stock still until they heard it open. Sirius fell off the couch and accidentally pulled Bellissia off with him. They struggled to pull away, but then they looked up to see a very bemused looking James and Peter.

"James, Peter! How are my mates?" Sirius said from under Bellissia. They quickly stood (Bellissia was desperately trying to pull down her shirt. Somehow it was never restored to its original position after Sirius played "doctor").

"Listen, Padfoot, I've been suspicious about you two for quite a while now, and I'll cover for you with Remus," James said.

"Oh thank you, Jamesie!" Bellissia squealed as she threw her arms around him. She pulled back and saw Peter staring at her with wide eyes. She guessed James didn't get too many hugs. Too late, she followed where Peter was staring and realized she had never done up the top few buttons of her shirt. That creepy boy had now seen not only cleavage, but a fair amount of pink lace 34-B bra. She turned a bit and did a couple of the buttons. Peter continued to leer at her like the old man who rand the hot dog stand on 17th back in the city. She had never liked to pass that geezer without a really big boyfriend. She made a mental note to tell Sirius about him. Just as it was getting a bit awkward, Remus burst in the door.

"Hey James have you seen-Bella! Where on Earth have you been? Off with some new guy?"

"Remus that is so unfair!" she cut in.

"It's not exactly like you have a clear reputation," he said with raised eyebrows. "Anyway, McGonagall is about to go over the edge, you're forty-five minutes late for your detention."

Bellissia's eyes got wide. "Shit!" she said as she ran out the portrait hole.

"Hey Remus, what were you talking about 'not having a clear reputation'," Sirius asked.

"Eh, I shouldn't tell you lot!"

"Oh, come on, mate!" James cut in.

"It's not a huge deal, really, she's just been known to get around, you know? I guess it really got started from our Great Aunt Giacinta. I remember as early as third year that old bird would follow Bella around snarling 'lei la ragazza sporca dividendo il suo letto con molti ragazzi'. I don't know much Italian, but roughly means 'you dirty girl who sleeps with many boys'."

They all cracked up. "That cow!" laughed James

"I'll bet she was the one who always complained," choked Peter.

"Yeah, she probably had an awful nickname for everyone. What did she call you, Remus?" Sirius asked.

"Me? I was either 'il ragazzo straniero', the foreign boy, or 'l'estraneo', the outsider. She didn't even acknowledge my mother's marriage, since my dad's not Italian. She called my mom 'la prostituta inglese', or the British prostitute."

"Oh man, did your mom get mad?" asked Peter.

"Uh, not really, she would just say 'curl up and die you old cow!'." They all laughed.

"Hey guys, don't tell anyone else about this, especially Bella, she's still mad at old Giacinta."

"Don't worry, mate. I don't have anyone else to tell it to!" James said.

* * *

By the time Bellissia finally got to Professor McGonagall's room, she could tell she was in deep trouble. She walked through the rows of desks up to the main podium where she was standing.

"You are an hour late." Bellissia had gotten lost on one of the trick staircases.

"Yes, ma'am, it won't happen again, I lost track of time."

"I see. And do you think another day of detention would help you to keep better time?"

"If you think so ma'am."

"Hmm, if I think so. You know what I think would help? If you got a watch, Miss Angenelo. Miss Evans is already in my office sorting my spellbooks. Please go in and inform her she is dismissed. You may take over from here."

Bellissia sighed. "So should I plan on coming tomorrow?"

"Oh, I don't know, let's see how tonight goes," she said with the faintest hint of a smile.

Bellissia walked into the office to find Lily amid piles and piles of ancient looking tomes.

"It's about time!" she said. Just as Bellissia was about to say something equally catty, Lily put her hand up.

"Look Bella, I'm sorry I went off at you during breakfast. That was wrong. From now on we're cool."

"Thanks, Lily." Bellissia put her hand out and Lily shook it.

"One thing," Lily said as she turned around. "Right now, of the girls in our dorm, Annie and I are the least of your worries," and with that, she left.

An hour later, every book was in place. McGonagall told Bellissia she needn't come back the next night. She began the long walk back to the tower. She thought about what Lily had said. What was the worst some British girl could do? Still, she thought it best not to under-estimate the mind workings of three seventeen year old girls. She finally got through into the common room and found all four Marauders sitting by the fire with some old looking parchment.

"Hey guys," Bellissia said as she hugged Remus from behind. Remus jumped and James started hastily folding up the paper.

"How was detention?" asked Sirius.

"Not so bad. Pretty good, in fact. Lily and I are cool. She's actually pretty nice."

"I'm glad you're getting along, Bella," Remus said.

"Thanks, Bub. Hey, I'm going to go ahead and go up to bed. See you tomorrow.

"'Night, Bella," Peter called out.

"Goodnight!" Remus said.

"'Night," Sirius said.

"See ya!" James said.

She waved and began walking up the stairs, but the minute she placed her foot on the bottom step, she could feel that something was amiss. The usually bustling stairway was completely deserted, save for one of her roommates standing outside the door. It was Marion, a short, mousy girl.

"Hi Marion," Bellissia said kindly. Marion was obviously startled, when she recovered, she said not a word, but raped twice on the large wooden door.

Two of their other roommates stepped out; the terror twins, Kate and Emalie. Although they were not actually twins, or even sisters, they girls looked exactly alike. They both had shoulder-length sandy blonde hair and cold, icy blue eyes.

"Hello, girls. Having a lovely night?"

"Fab," replied Kate, coldly.

"How about you, Bella?" sneered Emalie.

"Splendid! But-do you mind?-I'm a bit tired. I'd like to, I don't know, go to my room and sleep?"

"Tired, huh?" Well, I don't know if you'll be getting too much sleep tonight, eh Kate?" Emalie said, the corners of her mouth twitching. They moved aside and Bellissia entered the room. Her bed, which happened to be the closest to the door, was completely vandalized, and from the look of it, so was most of her stuff. In bright pink writing was "The Marauders Slut" written all over everything. The curtains from her bed, the sheets and pillows, her trunk and nightstand, and even her books, but what made her the angriest of all was her crucifix, given to her by her mother, passed from mothers to daughters in her family for decades, now read across it "Catholics are Scum." Those slags could ruing her bed and mess up her text books, but when they ruined-no, desecrated!-not only a holy object but an heirloom, they had gone too far. Bellissia threw her trunk open and grabbed her purse, a large black tote bag, and walked out of the room past those laughing maniacs. At the last minute, she snatched up her crucifix.

By the time she had gotten to the common room, she was running. Hot tears were brimming her eyes. She was not going to cry. Not in front of these people. These terrible people.

"Hey Bella, I thought you were going to bed," she heard James say as she raced out of there. She wanted to be anywhere but in that room. She snuck out of the back doors of the castle, outside onto the grounds. She stuck the cross into her bag and sat on a rock. She couldn't stand it anymore. She just let the tears flow. She hated it when people saw her cry. She got it from her grandmamma. "Bebé," she used to say, "to show a tear is to show a weakness." Finally she wiped her eyes and sat back. She fumbled in her purse for a tissue, but she found something more. An old pack of half-empty cigarettes. She used to be an avid smoker, but she had quit a year or two ago. She had felt so strong and in-control then. Now she felt weak and insecure.

"What the hell," she though as she brought one out, along with a lighter, and lit up. "No one cares anyway." That first drag felt like a breath of life. She closed her eyes and enjoyed it. Amazing how one little smoke could have that much of a claming affect, she mused. She sat there for a long time, smoking and thinking. Then she heard someone coming toward her. She quickly stamped out her cigarette and waved the air around her to try and clear it.

"Hi Baby. James told me I might find you here." Sirius!

"Hey Baby. It's been a rough night." She took out her pack of cigarettes once more. She offered one to him as well. He declined. Shrugging, she lit it up and inhaled deeply. He sat down next to her, not saying another word, just easing his arm around her waist. They sat there, just like that for a long while. Finally, Bellissia spoke.

"Why do they all hate me?" All of a sudden, her tears came back. She move into Sirius's lap and sobbed onto his shoulder. She ended up telling him everything. He laughed when she told him what was written on her bed, but sobered up quickly when she showed him the crucifix.

"I'll clean it up for you. Don't worry, Baby, and you are not slut! You are _perfect_." She smiled on his chest.

"Remus doesn't need to know about this," she gestured with her cigarette, "either. He hates smoking."

"Of course not. You're secret is safe with me." She stood up and took one last drag before dropping her cigarette to the ground and outing it with her foot.

"Let's go," and with that, they made their way up to the castle.


	7. Meet the Slytherins

**-I know, I know, it's been WAY too long. I won't make excuses. I answered some questions on my author page thing, so I won't do that here. Thanks for being patient.**

Bellissia awoke that morning disoriented. She couldn't figure out where she was, or why she was on the floor. She sat up and felt an arm around her waist. She turned her head to the right and saw Sirius stirring. She smiled. It all came back to her. He had been there for her and walked her up to the castle last night. When she was too upset to face the girls, he, very gentlemanly, fixed her up a spot on the floor to sleep on. When she couldn't get to sleep, he laid there with her, whispering sweet things in her ear.

"Baby," she whispered in his ear.

"Not yet, babe, It's early," he moaned.

"Sirius, you have to get in your bed."

"No, I have to be right here."

"Remus will be up soon!" At that, he leapt up and dove under the covers of his once-empty bed. Much to Bellissia's amusement, he began thrashing about and went so far as to throw a pillow on the floor before feigning sleep.

"That's my boy," she thought. Luckily Remus, as well as James and Peter, had not so much as stirred. She got up and padded over to the adjoining bathroom. She stared at her reflection. Her usual messy black hair was now wild and all over the place. She even saw a leaf in it, much to her disgust. Her eyes were rimmed in black, like a raccoon. Tears and non-waterproof mascara were not a good combination. Her cheeks were still flushed from lying wrapped in a sheet with Sirius, and on her neck, were three bold hickeys. Lovely. No doubt Sirius's work from yesterday. She needed to brush her teeth and take a shower, but all of her stuff was in the girls' dorms. She sighed as she realized she would have to face the gruesome twosome and their minion.

As she exited the bathroom, she saw Remus begin to stir. He sat up and gave her a questioning look.

"Morning, Remmy," she said as she walked over to his bed.

"Morning, Bella," he replied with a yawn. "What are you doing here?"

"I had a bad night. I'm not really getting along as well as you might have liked," she said with a grin.

"Well, just move your stuff in here for good. I'll see if we can get you an extra bed and bureau."

"Thanks, cuz, I knew you'd understand." He gave her a smile as she pecked him on the cheek. "I'll just go get my things."

"Bella, wait…" Remus said. She paused. "What's that on your neck?" She froze. Busted. Think quick!

"Er…a rash." Nice. He still looked suspicious. "It's a hex from…" who? "…Snape," she finished lamely. 'Sorry buddy,' she thought, 'my skin's worth more than yours.' Remus looked furious but she quickly left the room before he said anything more.

She gave an involuntary shiver as she reached for the door of the girls' dorms.

"Now you're just being stupid," she thought. "They're probably not even awake yet." Just as she predicted, Kate and Emalie were sound asleep. She tiptoed past them to the bathroom and heard a horrible retching sound, like someone being sick. She paused and listened. Over and over again the sound filtered through the door. She knocked softly.

"Hey, are you alright in there?" she whispered. No answer. She tried the door. Locked. Her throat tightened. She knew exactly what was going on.

"Whoever's in there needs to open up right now or I'll pee all over the carpet!" she whispered louder this time. The lock clicked and she was face to face with Annette. She looked terrible. She had bags under her eyes and her cheeks looked hollow. Bellissia slipped inside with her and relocked the door.

"What the hell are you doing?" Bellissia said through gritted teeth.

"I'm not feeling well, I must have the flu or something, so if you'll excuse me-" she tried to brush past Bellissia, but Bellissia grabbed her forearm.

"I'll say it again: what the hell are you doing?" Bellissia said.

"I could ask you the same thing," Annie said. "I haven't seen you since last night. I know you didn't sleep in your bed." She eyed Bellissia's clothes from yesterday and her tired-looking face. "So that leaves the question-who's bed?"

"That is none of your business," Bella countered.

"Isn't that the pot calling the kettle black."

"What? You are going to kill yourself. This is serious," Bellissia said, exasperated.

"No more serious than being a slut," Annie sneered.

"Don't even go there. Just don't."

"Alright, I won't tell anyone about your, late night escapades if you don't say anything about me being sick."

"No deal, I'm too worried about you. Besides what does it matter who I sleep with?"

"So you admit you were sleeping with someone!" Annie practically yelled.

"I don't have to tell you anything! We're not friends!" Bellissia said.

"Then why do you care so much about my barfing habits?" Bellissia stared at her. Why did she care? This girl was obviously mental.

"Because Remus cares about you, and I care about Remus," Bellissia said softly. "It would really hurt him to know what you are doing to your body."

"You can't tell him!" Annie got a scared look in her eyes. Was her cousin scary? "Hey wait, wouldn't he be hurt to know you're sleeping with his friends?" Annette said.

"I'm not!" But Annie raised an eyebrow in question. "Fine! We're both locked to secrecy, but that doesn't mean I can't bother you about this."

"Deal." Bellissia gave her a half-smile and started picking up her toiletries.

"Moving out so soon?" Annie asked.

"I can't room with those girls. I just can't." She began shoving her toiletries into an empty bag. She paused to dab concealer on her love bites and brush her hair.

When she finished, she unlocked the door and moved on to the rest of stuff. She first shook off her last night's clothes and pulled on some old sweats. They were soft and gray and smelled like her ex. Probably because they were his. She had a thing with guys' clothes. They were so comfy and smelled so good! She held up the bottom of the shirt and took a big sniff. Mmmm, it was like lemons.

"Does it smell like boy?" Annette said with a smile.

"Oh yeah," Bellissia said, "Here," and she held up the shirt once more. Annette smiled and took a sniff.

"Ooh, I like that! Do they belong to you secret boyfriend?" she laughed.

"Um, no, they're my ex-boy's, I stole them." They both laughed.

"Anything I can do to help?" she asked.

"Want to help carry my trunk?"

"Sure." The girls (with a great amount of effort) managed to half drag, half lift the insanely heavy trunk to they boys' dorms.

By the time they got there, the rest of the boys had finally stirred. Remus looked a little, surprised, to say the least, that Annie was helping Bellissia with her trunk and the two seemed to be getting along. James had a confused look on his face.

"Hey, wait, what's going on?" he asked.

"Yeah," Peter squeaked, "why is she bringing her trunk in here?"

"I'm moving in here. A few people have made it very clear I'm not welcome in my assigned dormitory," she replied. Sirius and Remus each gave her a smile. She smiled back at them both. James just shook his head.

"You better not hog the bathroom, and if I see one…girly product…" he started.

"Don't worry, as long as you stay away from the under the sink area you'll be ok."

88-

Luckily it was Saturday and there were no classes. She decided to take some time to walk by the lake. The warm weather would soon end, and she wanted to take advantage of it as much as possible. She put on a simple denim (albeit miniature) skirt and a tie-back halter top. For once, she slipped on some tennis shoes. As she left the common room, she tied her hair back with a white scarf.

She walked through the school vaguely listening to the chattering of her classmates, but not really. They were buzzing about the Hogsmead trip next Saturday. Bellissia had never been to an all-wizarding village. She had wonderful fantasies of her and Sirius exploring the town together, hand in hand. The bubble soon burst when she remembered her cousin. In reality it would be her, the marauders, and Annie. It wouldn't be so bad, she thought, but still she wished she could get up the nerve to tell Remus. She hated sneaking around. She also wished she could ask her mother what to do. She sighted. She thought of Antonia, but as Remus was her son, it didn't seem right. Then she remembered her grandmother. She smiled. Perfect. She vowed to write to her as soon as she got back.

By this time she had reached the lake. It looked so beautiful in the daytime. It shimmered as the morning sun shone down on the water. She saw the elusive giant squid she had heard so much about on the other side of the lake basking in the sun. She thought he had the perfect idea of how to spend a nice day. She sat down on the grass and stretched out. She laid there fore a while, but she soon grew restless. Standing up, she made her way closer to the water. She looked left and right. No one was around. It was still pretty early. She kicked off her shoes and cautiously waded into the water. She remained still for a few minutes. The cool water felt good on her hot feet. What was she thinking even wearing shoes? When nothing jumped on her or bit her foot off, she took a deep breath and dove face-first into the lake.

It felt wonderful. She didn't care that her clothes were all wet, or that there was a possibility of getting sick, not only from the coolness of the water, but from the microbes that inhabited the lake. She just wanted to swim. She swam for nearly two hours. She would dive to the bottom of the shallower part and pick up pretty rocks and shells. She would study them and run her hands over their smooth surface before heaving it back into the depths. When she had enough, she made her way to her sneakers.

As she reached dry ground, she pulled the soaking scarf out of her hair and tried to wring out her top. She flipped her dripping wet hair upside down over her head and began to try and dry if off, or at least give it more body. She leaned way over and combed her dark locks with her fingers. Unfortunately, in doing this, she did not see the gang of Slytherin boys gathering a few meters behind.

88-

"Moony, you never lose your temper or get all mad, why is that?" The marauders were sitting in the common room in their favorite chairs by the fire. They had dedicated today a Marauder's Only Day. No girlfriends, or crushes in James's case, and no cousins were allowed, at least until the evening. James looked toward Remus, waiting for a reply.

"I don't know… I guess I just have better control of my temper," he replied.

"Yeah, but what if someone was in danger, like Antonia, or Annie, or… Bella!" James said.

"Well if anyone tried to hurt those women, I would not hold my temper for long. It's different if it's people I love," Remus said.

"Oh, I get it, you just don't loves us enough," Sirius joked. Peter, completely not picking up on the sarcasm, looked extremely worried.

"You don't really think that, do you Moony?" he asked in his squeaky voice as Sirius made a big show of rolling his eyes.

"Peter, you now I think of you guys as brothers, I just know you can protect yourselves. If it was my mom, or Annie, or Bella…" Sirius looked uncomfortable at the mention of Bellissia. James gave him a sharp look, but if Remus picked up on it, he did not react.

Remus sighed. He especially worried about Bellissia. She had suffered too many broken hearts and disappointments. She was like a little sister to him, and he felt like he needed to protect her. She always put a show on about being the independent and tough American, but he knew she was a whole lot more vulnerable than she seemed. Many of her past boyfriends tended to forget that. He had listened to her crying to him during their long-distance phone calls too many times. James's voice jerked him from his thoughts.

"Let's stop by the kitchens and get some food and then take a walk around the grounds."

"Sounds good," Sirius agreed as Remus and Peter nodded their heads. And with that, they left the common room.

88-

The gang of Slytherins consisted of the ever-greasy Severus Snape, Regulus Black (Sirius's crazy younger brother), Rudolphus Lestrange (whose girlfriend Bellatrix Black was as scary as she was beautiful), Cresten "Crest" Malfoy (Lucius's younger cousin), Rabastan Lestrange (Rudophus's younger brother), and Barty Crouch, Jr. Currently, Regulus, Rabastan, Barty, and Crest were lying flat on their bellies looking up the slight hill toward Bellissia while Severus stood guard and Rudolphus called the shots.

"Damn! If you look up and to the left, you can see her…" Crest began.

"Oh yeah, I see. How could a sexy thing like that end up in Gryffendor?" Rabastan wondered.

"Not to mention be related to that werewolf, Lupin!" Barty said.

"Easy boys. Snape, see anyone, like Black and his posse?" Rudolphus said.

"Nah, it's all clear," Severus replied.

"Excellent," Rudolphus said with a smirk. "Crest, go up there and introduce yourself."

"Why does he get to go?" Regulus whined.

"Because I said so, Black! Besides, Crest seems to have more charm than any of you, judging from the fact you have never even been on a date." Regulus looked away, and to Rudolphus's delight, looked slightly pink in the cheeks.

"Alright, I'm gone," Crest said, and with that, he made his way toward Bellissia.

88-

Bellissia flipped her hair back around so she was standing up straight again. It (her hair) was doing its trademark "even though I'm wet I still can't just be straight". She sighed and fluffed it a bit with her hands. She soon gave up. What was the point? Besides, she saw a very handsome looking boy walking towards her with an earnest looking smile on his face. He had the brightest blonde hair she had ever seen.

"Hey, honey, do you believe in love at first sight, or should I walk by again?" Bellissia rolled her eyes.

"Nice, you come up with that all by yourself?" she said as she began walking away. They were all the same.

"Wait, I'm sorry. Don't go," he grabbed her arm. "Please, I just want to talk." She stopped. "Let's start over. Hello, my name is Crest." She stared at him. "Come on, this is where you say your name."

"I'm Bella," she said, a small smile playing in the corner of her lips.

"You certainly are. Walk with me, I'm on my way to get some lunch," he replied.

"What kind of name is Crest?" she asked, walking in step with him. She briefly thought Sirius for some reason might have a problem with her flirting with Crest and eating lunch with him, but she shoved those thoughts away. Besides, it wasn't like she was married!

"It's short for Cresten. It's kind of a family name. My uncle is named Cresten and so is my great-grandfather. What about you, is it just Bella?" he asked.

"It's short for Bellissia. It's Italian. My mother…" but she broke off. Cresten didn't seem to notice as Bella looked away to prevent him from seeing the tear in her eye. She thought it was pretty weird she was getting all upset about her mother now. It seems after all that time she could learn to let her go…

"Crest wait, who are they?" Bella gestured to the group of boys who had suddenly began walking with them. She the only one she recognized was that greasy-haired boy from the train, but another one looked strangely familiar. He had black hair and eyes.

"What's the matter, honey don't you want any company?" hissed the familiar-looking boy. She did not like his tone of voice at all.

"Yeah, we can't let Crest here have all the fun!" another said. Immediately her New York instincts kicked in. She needed to get away from those boys, fast. She tried to run, but they had formed a circle around her. She smashed into a sandy-haired boy, hoping to knock him over, but he just shoved her back into the circle. They stepped in, making the circle tighter. She looked around, but they were far from the castle. No one would hear her scream. They were on the side of the lake near the Forbidden Forrest. She didn't like her odds one bit.

88-

"I could live off these chocolate éclairs!" Sirius Black declared. The Marauders had already visited the kitchen and had nicked their fair share of desserts and other treats. James nodded as he munched on a cookie.

"Hey, aren't we going to walk by the lake?" asked Peter his beady eyes looked up hopefully at James. He nodded, as his mouth was still full.

"Guys, I have a really bad feeling," Remus said as they left the castle and walking into the sunshine. They looked at him.

"How could you have a bad feeling? Look! It's a perfect day!" James said with his arms outstretched, gesturing to the grounds.

"I don't know…" he began.

"Look!" Peter said. "There's Lestrange and his gang way on the other side!"

"Hey, you're right. I wonder what they're doing?" Sirius questioned.

"It doesn't look good!" James said as he saw Lestrange raise his wand. The boys broke into a run towards the gathering.

"God! What are they up to now?" Sirius wondered again.

"Maybe we" Peter gasped "should just go" he wheezed "back." He wasn't in near as good of shape as the others.

"Peter, just shut up and run!" Remus said as the three of them gained a burst of energy and left Peter in the dust.

James was the first to arrive and he didn't like what he saw. Someone (he assumed it was a girl, because she had long black hair) was in the middle of the circle being pushed around it as the boys touched her hair and stroked her face. For being at a complete disadvantage, she was putting up a pretty good fight. He even saw her spit in Malfoy's face. Soon, Remus and Sirius joined him. They accessed the situation, as they were still too far away to see perfectly clear.

"It seems like they found a new victim to torture," James spat.

"She looks familiar," Sirius began.

"Oh my god!" Remus shouted as he ran towards them. Fortunately, the Slytherins didn't see him until it was too late. He reared back and punched Rudolphus in the face with all of his strength. To James and Sirius's delight, they saw Rudolphus crumble to the ground. Then they saw what had caused Remus to go nuts. The girl was Bella! They tore down to help Remus, sending curses and jinxes every which way. Remus had gone mental. He was currently sitting on Malfoy's chest, just wailing on him. Sirius grabbed his robes and pulled him off.

"What the hell, Padfoot?" Remus asked.

"God, Remus, pull it together, we got this," Sirius replied. Sure enough, all of the Slytherins were nursing bruises and various cuts as they ambled away. Sirius saw his brother and Rabastan dragging Rudolphus by the arms.

"What's the matter, Regulus? Run out of first years to torture?" he shouted at his brother. Regulus just shot him a look full of pure hatred as he walked away.

Remus went to Bellissia. She was still standing, but her eyes were rolling back and she was clutching her side. She staggered toward Remus, and he caught her just before she fainted. Remus scooped her up into his arms.

"Hey guys, I think Bella's hurt," Remus said. James and Sirius immediately stopped taunting the Slytherins and joined him as he carried her to the castle. Sirius moved her arms and saw a deep gash in her hip. He tore off part of his robe and tried to stem the blood flow. James found Peter hiding in the bushes and they all slowly made their way to the hospital wing.


	8. White Sheep

**Hello, yes another one. I finished HBP and I can safely say I won't be changing anything on my story. I'll try not to put any spoilers in, if I do, I'll give fair warning. Although, what kind of HP fan would you be if you haven't read HBP yet? Haha jk jk. Well here it is, I only own Bella.**

"NON! No, per favore lui, papa. Aiuto! Partirlo solo! L'amo!"

Bellissia woke with a start. She had been having a horrible nightmare about Sirius being killed. It seemed so real. She shuddered and opened her eyes. She was nearly blinded by the brightness of the room. The walls, the curtains hanging on her bed, the tables and chairs, all were completely white. She blinked a few times trying to adjust to her surroundings. She was in a big bed with a fluffy, white comforter. It felt amazingly warm and soft. She tried to sit up, but she quickly abandoned the idea when she felt a sharp pain shooting up her side. She laid back down. There was no one else in the room.

"Where am I?" she asked aloud, not really expecting an answer.

"The hospital ward, in Madame Pomfrey's care," came the reply.

"Remus!" she sighed, relieved. She tried to smile at him, but it came out as a kind of grimace.

"Just lay back, don't try to move too much. Your wound is physically healed, but it will be sore for another hour or two. Just stay right here and I can even bring you lunch. How are you?" he asked concerned.

"I'm ok, but what happened? I mean, why am I here?" she wondered.

"Don't you remember?" Judging from the blank look she gave him, he guessed she didn't remember. He sighed. "A gang of Slytherin boys attacked you but me, James, and Sirius saw just in time. You were hit in your side pretty bad. It was bleeding like crazy! I was afraid… well Madame Pomfrey said it was one of the worst she'd seen in a long time. We were all waiting for you to wake up, but James and Sirius tried to kill Cresten Malfoy when he came in with a bloody nose, so they had to leave."

"Why did Cresten Malfoy have a bloody nose? All I remember is talking to him, and then his stupid friends surrounding me," she shuddered.

"Er…well," Remus clearly looked uncomfortable. "I sort of punched him." Bellissia laughed.

"Oh Remmy that's wonderful!" she giggled.

"Why is it wonderful?" he asked, puzzled.

"Oh, never mind. So what else had happened?" she said.

"Nothing really, I ate some breakfast, talked to the guys, wrote a letter to my mum…" he said the last phrase very fast. He sincerely hoped she didn't hear. He avoided eye contact and instead looked at the ceiling.

"Remus you didn't!" Bellissia was shocked. "She's going to _freak out_!"

"I know! I know! But Professor Dumbledore thought I should," he told her.

"The _headmaster_ was here?" her eyes were practically bulging.

"Well, he had to know what happened! He said he's going to take care of the Slytherins, but in the meantime to write to my mum and to never leave you alone." She gave him an 'are you serious' look.

"I know you don't want a baby-sitter, but Bella, I worry about you!" She glared at him and then exploded.

"Non posso credere questo! È nessuno dei suoi affair che faccio. Ha ditto la Zia! Il nervo de lui!" she accented the last few words by pounding her fist against the mattress. When she finished, she was still mad, but looked somewhat more relaxed.

"I should think your safety is my business, and my mum's as well, for that matter. We care about you, Bella! You're like the sister I never had!" She stared at him, shocked.

"Since when do you know Italian?" she breathed. He smiled at her.

"Oh you really don't think a person could make it through seventeen years of living with my mother and not know some Italian," he said. "You know, I picked some up here and there. I only know a bit, and I can't read or write it to save my life."

"Do you know what we should do?" she asked. She had a glean in her eye he did not like at all.

"Er…what?" he asked, cautiously.

"Practice!" she exclaimed, then sat back, satisfied. He stared at her, confused.

"Practice what?"

"Italiano, stupid! I've got two books written in it, and I remember all the pronunciations. Me and you can help each other." She now looked very pleased with herself.

"I guess it would be cool to learn it properly…" he wavered.

"It's settled then!" she exclaimed happily. Remus looked like he wanted to protest, but gave up.

"I could ask my mother for pointers when she writes back," he offered.

"This is going to be great! I still don't think Antonia needed to know what happened last night, but I forgive you," she said.

"Erm, I didn't apologize, but whatever makes you happy," he said.

"There's one thing I don't understand, though," she said. "Why did those boys attack me?"

"Well, I was hoping you could tell me," Remus replied. "Sirius recons they were just being gits, but he's biased against them because one of them was his little brother."

"Ex-brother." Remus and Bellissia turned to and saw Sirius standing in the doorway. "You know I don't consider any of those creeps my family," he continued.

"Sirius! I thought you were got chucked out of here!" Bellissia said.

"Yes well, I'll have to be careful, won't I?" he flashed her one of his lop-sided grins. "By the way, _Peter_ wanted you to have these." He winked and tossed her a bouquet of white lilies.

"Peter?" she asked skeptically as she caught them and inhaled their fresh scent. Remus looked slightly confused as he glanced at each of them.

"Yes, _Peter_. He found them by the lake and thought of you. He also sends you his best wishes."

She smiled. "Well tell _Peter _that they are lovely flowers and it was very kind of him to think of me. _Wasn't it kind, Remus?_" Remus's eyebrows had scrunched together and he was frowning at the flowers and Sirius alternately.

"What? Oh, yeah, it was kind," he said half-heartedly. "Are you feeling better Bella?" he asked, clearly trying to change the subject.

"Oh yes, I fell perfect. Actually I think I'm ready to go back to the common room."

"Awesome, ok, Sirius and I will wait outside while you change clothes and get you're things together. _Won't we Sirius?_" Remus said. Sirius raised his eyebrows at Bellissia. She looked worried as well. She sincerely hoped Remus hadn't somehow found out everything between her and Sirius. He was clearly over-protective, and this would make him so mad. She said a silent prayer as Remus led Sirius out of the hospital ward.

"What's wrong Remus?" Sirius asked, hoping he was keeping an innocent face.

"I'll tell you what's wrong! Bellissia's supposed admirer! I don't want her to date any Marauder!" he nearly shouted.

"Alright Remus, first of all, you need to calm down. Bellissia's a big girl, she can take care of herself. Second, you _are_ a Marauder! And what's wrong with us?" Sirius asked.

"What's wrong? I'll tell you what's wrong! She deserves much better," he said.

"Aw come on, Remus. That's low! Below the belt…" Sirius said, but Remus interrupted.

"Sorry, but come on, _Peter?_ What's she doing with Peter?" he asked, a look of confusion and disgust on his face. Sirius summoned every horrible thought in his head just to try to keep himself from laughing out loud. It was truly hard to contain himself. Remus was just shaking his head, muttering.

"Well, er," Sirius choked, "maybe she just wants someone, you know, nice." He had to start coughing, in order to disguise his laughter.

"Yeah, but you're nice! She can do so much better than Peter. I seriously think he just discovered girls this year," Remus said. Sirius really did laugh.

"Look, do you really think Bellissia and Peter are having a secret love affair?" Sirius asked. "I think Peter may like her, but she clearly does not like him."

Remus cheered up. "Yeah, I guess you're right."

Back in the Hospital, Bellissia was listening with her ear pressed against the door. She had to put her fist in her mouth to keep from laughing out loud. She wiped a tear from her eye and leaned against the door.

"Just WHERE do you think you're going?" Bellissia turned around to see a short, plump witch dressed in white with her hands on her hips. She appeared to be in a bad mood.

"Um, to the common room?" Bellissia half said, half asked.

"I don't think so!" Madame Pomfrey snapped back.

"Oh please! My cousin Remus is right outside, he's going to walk me back and I'll stay really relaxed all day and I won't do anything fun I swear!" she rambled.

Madame Pomfrey sighed. She reached her hand out and felt Bellissia's forehead. "Well, let me take one last look, and then we'll see," she replied. Bellissia grinned and happily obliged.

One hour later, Bellissia was sitting on her new bed in the boys' dormitory. She had the feeling her stern head of house, Professor McGonagall, did not like the idea of her rooming with four seventeen year old boys. She finally had caved, though, when Remus had explained that he needed to keep an eye out for her. To everyone's amazement, McGonagall had shed a tear and replied that family indeed needed to look out for each other during these terrible times. Bellissia wondered what terrible times she was talking about. She never read the news, so she had no idea how much support Voldemort was gaining.

As she laid back on the comfy mattress, she realized it was Sunday. Her hands immediately felt for her necklace. It was a small silver cross she always wore. Her mother had worn it as well. Her mother had been the most devout catholic she had ever known. Isabella Marsala Angenelo. Everyone had called her Marsala, or Marsi. She went to confession every week. Bellissia wondered what her mother would do right now. She sat up and slid off her bed. Her trunk was laid at the foot of her four-poster. She went rummaging through and eventually found what she was looking for. Her hands felt the wooden beads as she took it out of her trunk. It was her rosary necklace. She smiled. She knew her mother was pleased.

Bellissia set up a miniature altar on her night table. She hung her cross necklace over the lamp that attached to the wall and lit candles around it. She crossed herself and then began the Apostle's Creed.

"I believe in God, the Father Almighty, Creator of heaven and earth; and in Jesus Christ…"

She allowed herself to be calmed by the prayers. She may not be getting along with everyone right now, or doing very well with her schoolwork, but she felt at peace. The holy spirit was with her. She decided to say a joyful mystery with her rosary prayer. Why should she not be joyful? She had her religion, she had her family (well, Remus and his parents), and, thanks to Madame Pomfrey, she had her health. She was also surrounded by wonderful people, like Sirius. She really liked him. More than usual. As she reached the last ten Hail Marys, she reflected that they were much easier to say than Our Fathers. She also felt better when she said them, as Mary was her patron saint. Her middle name, Maria, was the Italian form of Mary.

"Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee; blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death. Amen."

As she ended with an Our Father, she sighed. If only she could always be as relaxed as this. She thought about Remus and their Italian lessons. She cracked a smile. They would certainly have their work cut out for them. She strained her brain to remember how to say a Hail Mary. She could only remember the first part.

"Ave, o Maria, piena di grazia, il Signore è con te..." she sighed. Oh well, she thought. It would eventually come back as she practiced more. She heard someone cough behind her. She stood up, turning around, and saw Sirius.

"That was neat, but do you always pray for like hours at a time?" he asked.

"Oh ha ha. I was saying a rosary, and yes they take a while, but it is Sunday," she replied.

"This your new bed?" he asked.

"Yeah, it just came today," she flopped down on the comforter. Patting the spot next to her she said, "Come on and try it out." He sat down next to her and lazily wrapped his arm around her waist. She leaned her head on his shoulder.

"I heard what Remus said about Peter," she said, smiling.

"Yeah, he was pretty worried, but I told him I'd watch out for you," he replied, with a bigger grin on his face.

"I don't know, but I think he should be much more worried about you."

"Yeah, I'm much more fun than Peter," he said.

"Yeah, because I really can't picture Peter reacting well to this." Bellissia placed her lips on his and kissed him. It did not take long for Sirius to respond by leaning her back on the bed so he was on top of her. She smiled between kisses and grabbed the bottom of his shirt and pulled it off of him. Soon she was out of her shirt as well. She kicked her shoes off and Sirius did the same. She began fumbling with the belt on his pants, but she felt strong hands grab her wrists. She looked up, confused.

"We can't do this," he said, panting.

"Why not?" she asked, just as out of breath. She felt like she had run a hundred miles.

"Because," he said, his eyes watching her chest rise and fall as she breathed. "Now is not the right time, and I don't want to be responsible…"

"Shut up," she said, but not in a mean way. "Is this because Remus doesn't know? We'll tell him eventually. And people have sex all the time."

"There are some virgins in the world, Bella."

"Oh come on, you know I'm no virgin, Sirius. I'm just saying why should we wait?" she replied.

"Bellissia, it's not right. I can't do this if Remus doesn't even know we're an item. Lets just lay down and relax," he said.

She sighed, but nodded her head yes. They both laid back, side by side, on her bed. Bella turned her head and looked at Sirius.

"You're cute when you're arguing," she said with a smirk.

"You're cute when you're horny," he replied, straight faced. She laughed. Her eyes traveled down his smooth, toned chest. She allowed herself to fully appreciate him.

"Like what you see," he asked, one eyebrow raised. She arched her back and winked at him. All she was wearing on top was a thin, lacy bra.

"You tell me." He shook his head.

"You are going to get me into trouble one day," he said.

"Too bad that couldn't be now," she teased.

"Enough! I promise you we'll do it eventually, just not secretly in the boy's dorms while your cousin is on prefect duty! It needs to be more special. You deserve better," he said.

"Aww, Siri you're so sweet!" she replied.

"Yeah, yeah. Speaking of sweet, I saw you and Annie together yesterday. Are you two friends now?"

"We kind of have a mutual understanding, but yeah, I guess you could say she's my friend," Bella said. "I'm getting cold," she added, shivering. Sirius pulled the covers out from under him and they both slid under. "So what's her story?" she asked.

"Annette Canterby. Well, she's muggle-born, like you. Her father is the owner of Canterby Enterprises in London. He made a shit-load of money. Her mother is a deb."

"A what?"

"Deb, debutante. Uh, socialite. You know, the wealthiest girls go to parties in hopes of marrying someone like Jude Canterby," he said.

"Jude? What's her mom's name?" she asked.

"Melinda. Her maiden name is Morgan. I hear she's, you know, not all there," he said, gesturing to his head. "She and Mr. C are never there, and if they are, they're never together. Annette goes home for a few days during the holidays, but usually she spends the majority of them at Lily's house, John goes there as well. I should know, because James and Lily live in the same town, not too far from each other, and I spend my holidays at James' usually."

"Why? Why don't you go home?" she asked.

"Well, it's a long story. It begins with me hating my parents for all of their dark ties and ends with them kicking me out after fifth year. I was only too happy to oblige." Bellissia felt terrible for asking. He obviously didn't like to talk about it, but she had to know about him. She wanted to know his past. It defined who he was now. She snuggled close to him, but he did show that he had even felt her. She pulled away. Looking down his chest, she saw a long scar she hadn't noticed before. It ran from an inch or two above his belly button to at least the waist of his jeans. She had a feeling if he took off his jeans, she would see that it went further. It was off to one side of his stomach. She put her hand on his stomach. This he noticed. With one finger, she traced the path of the scar. When she reached the end, he grabbed her wrist for the second time that night.

"I don't want to talk about it," he replied to the question she had asked with her eyes. He could see that his abrupt tone had hurt her, but he was not ready to tell her his sob-story. He didn't think he would ever be ready.

"Sometimes it's good to talk about things," she said softly.

"Well now is not one of those times," he sneered. He though for a moment he had made her cry, as her eyes grew large and her bottom lip twitched, but in a millisecond, her expression changed. Her eyes narrowed and her mouth was a thin line. She turned her attention to her own jeans and began fumbling with the button.

"What are you doing now?" Sirius asked in exasperation.

"You shut up," she said, harshly. Surprised, Sirius obeyed. "You're not the only one in the world, Sirius. You're not the only one who's had bad experiences." She had finally succeeded with the button and had the zipper down in no time. She began sliding the jeans off her hips. When they got to her knees, she kicked them off. Sirius only got a moment to appreciate how good she looked in lace boy-short underwear before she grabbed his hand. She placed it on her inner thigh.

"Er, not that I'm not enjoying this, but what are you doing?" he asked.

"Feel that?" she asked. Now that she mentioned it, he did feel something rough. It was an odd contrast to her smooth skin. She turned so he could see a small white circle rimmed with red. He was still confused.

"What is it?"

"It's a scar, same as yours. Except it's not from a wizard's wand," she told him.

"I still don't understand. How did you get it?" he asked.

"Back in New York, I ran with a much different crowd. My ex boyfriend, well let's just say he didn't have much regard for laws. His whole family didn't. You ever hear of organized crime?"

"Bella, what are you saying?" Sirius's eyebrows were knit together.

"One night, Luca, my ex, had just come back from a 'job'. I was over at his house, as usual. He came inside in a terrible mood. Of course, I just had to pick that time to start nagging him," she laughed coldly. "I was begging him to quit, I hated all of it, the lies and the shadiness, but he would not be swayed. I got real close to him, yelled in his face. Suddenly he just snapped. He hit me across the face," she gestured to her jawline. "And he gave me a black eye. I was on the floor crying and yelling at him to stop." She sighed, and Sirius saw a tear in her eye. She wiped at it furiously. "All of a sudden, he pulled out a gun. It's a kind of muggle wand to shoot…"

"I know what a gun is," Sirius said.

"Well he pulled it out and aimed at me. I was screaming so much, I was hoarse for days. He had a horrible look in his eyes, one I had never seen before. He had always been so sweet and good to me when we were together. I still think he's good at heart, he just made some mistakes. You know, his father wasn't a very good person, and sons are a map of their fathers…"

"So what happened?" Sirius whispered.

"He shot the gun. It hit me here in the leg. His sister, Lila, heard the commotion. She's just a few years younger than us. She grabbed the gun out of Luca's hand and threw it out the window. By this time Luca had gotten pretty quiet. I think he was in shock. I know he didn't mean to shoot it, but it doesn't change that he did. Lila went and got my grandmother and they (Lila and Nana) took me home. They cared for me, Nana sewed it up herself. I begged them not to take me to the hospital, because I didn't want to cause any trouble. It scarred horribly, because, you know, without doctors or healers, there's not a lot you can do. So Sirius, I told you my sob story. I'm just some poor little girlfriend of a thug. What's your story?" Bellissia stared him down. Her eyes flicked to his scar, but only momentarily. He held her gaze, then broke away.

"Alright, you win. My dad," he said finally.

"Your dad. That's an answer, but I'm looking for the story."

"You can be a bitch, you know that?" he said. She glared at him.

"I didn't ask for what you think of me."

"Fine, you want to know my story? You want to know the life story of Sirius Black? The white sheep of the Black family? Here it is. Mine wasn't a one-time thing, ok? This has been going on since I was old enough to talk, or at least old enough to form my own opinions, which would be at about six years old. That's when I stupidly told my father that I didn't think muggles looked that bad and I had a muggle friend who lived down the street. You know what happens when Judas Talman Black hears one of his sons like and associates with muggles? He punishes him. My little brother, you had the pleasure of meeting Regulus last night, he was the perfect son. How proud they were that he got into Slytherin, their beloved house. This particular scar that's spiked your interest was what caused me to move out. My father got a little carried away, you know, did too much. Kind of hard to cover up that kind of scar from prying eyes. He yelled at me, as though it were my fault he was stupid. So I packed my bags and took the Knight Bus to James's house. That was the end of Sirius Black's ties to his family. I am bound now only by name. The Marauders are my family." He had pulled away from Bellissia. She looked pale, but she was not crying. He was thankful for that.

"I want to be your family," she said at last.

"You-what now?" he asked, looking confused.

"You said that the Marauders were your family. And I said I wanted to be your family, too. But definitely not your sister." Sirius smiled.

"That's a good thing, because I'm not really into in breeding," he said. She laughed.

"We're both such a mess. Abused," she said.

"Mistreated," he added.

"Overly flirtatious."

"Too hot for our own good."

"And cocky as a sailor," she finished. She smiled at him. "Baby, I want to make this work. I care about you."

"I care about you too, sweetheart. That's why I want to know that son of bitch's last name and address," he said with feeling.

"Luca DiRenzo. Son of Vincentio or 'Vince' DiRenzo. He lives in New York, but there's no way you'll get him."

"Oh yeah? He shouldn't get too cocky. Someday, we're going to meet up, and only one of us will survive, and I plan on living."

"Oh Sirius! Don't be stupid. He's a mob prince, you can't touch him with a ten foot pole. He's got bodyguards and pit bulls and anything else you can imagine."

"He doesn't have you," Sirius said.

"Thank goodness, because then I couldn't do this," and she leaned in and kissed him. He quickly responded. Soon she was on top of him, one knee on either side of his hips. She felt his hands in her long hair. They were both thoroughly enjoying themselves when they heard a loud thump behind them. They turned to see what had interrupted them. Peter stood with his mouth hanging open, a book open on the floor where he had dropped it. He was openly staring at Bellissia's lace-clad ass, which was facing him, as she was still on top of Sirius. In one swift motion, Sirius grabbed his cloak from the bed next door and had it wrapped around Bellissia. Peter still stood there, staring.

"What the hell Peter? Stop staring at my girl. And could you knock before coming in to a room?" he said, clearly annoyed Peter had interrupted them. Peter's jaw snapped shut.

"S-Sorry Sirius. I was j-just getting a n-new quill!" Sirius rolled his eyes.

"Go ahead, make yourself at home," he said, sarcastically.

"Sirius, don't be so mean," Bellissia said.

"Oh come on, Bella, you saw the way he was looking at you-" but Bellissia cut him off.

"It's not like it's never happened before. He didn't mean any harm, baby, he was just surprised, weren't you, Peter? I mean, it is as much his room as ours." Peter was still nodding at her.

"No harm done. Now I'm getting tired, so if you boys will excuse me, I think I'll go put my pj's on," she said as she disappeared into the bathroom.

"I'm sorry man, I'm just a little stressed out," Sirius apologized.

"No, I'm sorry, Sirius. I should have knocked," Peter squeaked.

"I can't really blame you for looking at her, I mean, she's hot," he said, shrugging. Peter laughed his high-pitched laugh. "Seriously, though, if I ever catch you making a move on my girl, I swear to you, you won't be able to tell—"

"Baby!" Bellissia's voice interrupted him. He growled.

"What is it Bella?"

"Will you go see if I left my bag in the common room? I'm in the shower and it has my favorite soap in it." Sirius sighed.

"Sure, just a second," he yelled back.

"I'm not kidding Peter. You better go down to the common room with me. I don't think you can handle being up here."

"Whatever you say, Sirius." The boys walked down the stairs together to the common room. They found James sitting on the couch, talking to Lily.

"Wow, sorry, Prongs, I hope I'm not interrupting," he said. Lily giggled. _Giggled._

"No, you're not interrupting. We were just talking about some stuff. You know, head business," James replied. This comment had made Lily giggle even more. "What are you up to?" he asked.

"Well, I just came down to get Bella's bag, she left it here yesterday," Sirius replied.

"Oh yeah, I took it up to my dorm," Lily said. "Sorry! I thought someone might take it. I'll go get it." She began tearing up the stairs. James stared after her, then turned to Sirius once Lily was out of earshot.

"Padfoot, don't take this the wrong way, but you are so whipped."

"I know, I like it," Sirius said, smiling.


	9. Knocked Up

**Here is another one, enjoy. Oh and thank you to Harry's Marauder Chick.**

Bellissia woke up Monday morning feeling extremely refreshed. She was excited for her first Potions class at Hogwarts. Potions was one of her favorite subjects back at her old school, and she expected it to be pretty much the same here. She was placed in NEWT level on the recommendation of Professor Marietta, her old Potions Mistress. She was such a sweet old lady. Bellissia had been by no means the best in the class, but Marietta had said she thought she was capable of continuing, so here she was. Well, currently, she was eating breakfast with Annie and Remus. The rest were still asleep. Typical.

"Do you two have potions first?" she asked them.

"Yes, unfortunately," replied Annie.

"What do you mean?" Bellissia asked, slightly worried looking.

"Oh, don't mind her, it's just that Professor Grimm can be a bit harsh sometimes, but it's a wonderful subject," Remus said enthusiastically.

"_A bit harsh?_ Is that what you call someone who made me cry because I didn't understand the project?" Annie asked, exasperated.

"Oh, come on, you were in first year, and he had said the directions through twice already," Remus argued.

"Well, I don't like him, but Remus reckons he's just misunderstood," she said, rolling her eyes. "Just keep your head down and try to get a good partner."

"Hey, shouldn't the others be up by now? I mean classes start in just fifteen minutes," Bellissia said, looking around.

"Oh, yeah, I should probably go check on them," Remus said, but just as he rose from his chair, three very sleepy looking boys waltzed into the Great Hall followed by one very annoyed looking red-head. "Never mind! Morning everyone!" he said cheerfully. The boys murmured their greetings. "Er, thanks, Lily," Remus whispered.

"You owe me big Remus," she said, but she winked at him. Meanwhile, Sirius, James, and Peter had discovered the food and were proceeding to stuff their mouths with as much toast and eggs as could fit. Annie giggled.

"Well, girls, would you like to go ahead towards class? I think I would rather not witness this," Annie said, gesturing towards Sirius. Right at this moment, a piece of bacon fell out of his mouth.

"Yeah, let's go," Bellissia said, hurriedly. Lily looked at the food longingly. "Oh, just put some in a napkin and eat it on the way," Bella told her. Lily nodded and grabbed a piece of buttered toast and glass of orange juice.

As the girls made their way to the dungeons, they talked about—What else?—boys.

"Well, of course, Remus asked me to go with him on the Hogsmead weekend coming up," Annie said.

"You are so lucky!" groaned Bellissia.

"What are you talking about? Why am I lucky? I mean, ew, you're cousins!" she said, with a repulsed look.

"Oh gross! That's not what I meant! Never mind." The truth was, Bellissia was about to tell the girls about her and Sirius. They all hung out now, but she still didn't completely trust them.

"What about you Lily?" Annie questioned. "You've been awful quiet." Lily suddenly turned as red as her hair and mumbled something from behind her hands.

"What?" Bellissia asked. Lily moved her hands to her cheeks.

"I'm going with James," she said quietly.

"_Potter!_ Oh my GOD! I _knew_ it!" Annie shouted.

"God, Annie, not so loud!" Lily whispered urgently.

"What, are you ashamed of him? Lily, he's a hottie," Bellissia said with a smile.

"When did this happen and why haven't you told me?" Annie demanded.

"A couple of days ago while we were doing patrols together. He just seemed so sincere, I just thought 'Oh why not?'" she said.

"Lils that's awesome! Now we can double!" Annie squealed. Lily grinned in spite of herself. Bellissia sighed. Too bad she and Sirius couldn't do any of that. She immediately regretted sighing when the two girls looked at her.

"Now we just have to find someone for Bella to go with!" Lily said.

"Oh, you don't need to—" she started, but Annie cut her off.

"We definitely need to find you a date! Otherwise you'll be stuck with Sirius and Peter!" Annie said.

"What about your brother, Annie?" Bellissia said innocently.

"Oh, ha ha. I fear more for you than for him. Poor little guy would wet his pants with glee," she said, rolling her eyes.

"Oh don't be so hard on little Johnny," Lily said. "What about someone from Ravenclaw? Like Gavin!"

"Gavin Donovan? That hot seventh year? Isn't he going out with Rachel George?" Annie asked.

"They broke up last week," Lily said.

"Who dumped who?" Annie asked.

"Rachel dumped Gavin."

"Hmmm. I'll work on it," Annie said. Bellissia shook her head. It was better to just let them carry on. They would get tired of it eventually.

By this time, the group had reached the potions classroom and they were waiting outside for the Professor to unlock the door. Other students soon began filtering in, most of them from Gryffendor, but some from Ravenclaw and Slytherin. There was only one from Hufflepuff. She was a small girl with mousy brown hair. Bellissia felt bad for her. It would suck to be in a class without anyone from your own house. She was suddenly very thankful she was there with Lily and Annie. She turned to look at some of the other students when she spotted James, Remus, and Sirius walking towards her and the girls. Lily and Annie immediately started smoothing down their hair and putting on lip gloss. She snickered. The guys could totally see them. Besides, it's much better to make him think he likes you much more than you like him. It keeps him interested.

"Hey Lily, er did you have a good breakfast?" James asked awkwardly.

"Yeah, it was fine. I had a nice chat with the girls," she replied, winking at Bellissia. Sirius also winked at her.

"_Did you have a good breakfast?_" Sirius imitated as soon as Lily and James had stepped into the classroom. Bellissia hit him on the arm.

"Be nice! He was sweet," she said. She looked around for Annie and Remus, but they seemed to be in a deep conversation, or at least acting like it. So she took Sirius's hand and led him in the room. As soon as they were inside, they let go, but not before he gave her hand an extra squeeze. She brushed past him to sit with Lily and winked at him over her shoulder. He grinned and followed her. Lily and Bellissia sat together and Sirius and James sat together, with Lily and James on the inside, so Sirius and Bellissia were the farthest apart. Annie and Remus sat directly behind them when they finally came inside.

The bell rang and a tall, thin man came out from one of the three doors near the front of the room. He had no hair on his head and wore thick glasses. He would have looked quite comical if he had not looked so intimidating. His long mouth was stretched across his face much like the mouth-slit of the sorting hat, though he held none of the hat's whimsical charm. Slowly, he strode over to the large wood desk and sat behind it. He folded his arms.

"You are now at your final year of Potions at Hogwarts. Or should I say, those of you still brave enough to come back are. If you thought last year's class was difficult, you are in for a rude awakening. That class was a cakewalk compared to my seventh year class. I hope you are up to the challenge." He now stood up and tapped the blackboard with his wand. Immediately, many white, chalk drawn words appeared. "The assignment is on the board. At the end of the period I want it bottled and labeled with your name and what potion you think it is. Points will given for correctly identifying it and correctly brewing it. There will be no need to talk. Begin."

With that, the class began frantically slicing up ingredients and fanning their fires. Bellissia set out her cauldron and started a fire underneath. She then squinted at the chalkboard. The first step was easy enough.

"Carefully slice six mandrake leaves into long strips across the leaf approximately one half of a centimeter across." She pulled out some leaves and her brass knife and began cutting them up. She put those in the cauldron. She then proceeded to complete the fifteen steps without a hitch. Then it happened. She caught the professor glaring at her as though he didn't believe she deserved to be in NEWT level potions. Then she looked at Lily's cauldron and saw that Lily was already on step twenty-seven of the thirty steps. She looked over her shoulder and saw that Remus was already finished and was bottling his potion and labeling it. She gulped and looked at the board. It was getting difficult to read. She squinted. The m's kept flipping and becoming w's. The b's and the d's all looked the same. The p's and the q's all blurred together. She panicked. It was happening again. She stared at the next step. She thought it said to cut up something that started with a b. She just guessed and picked up some bromelaid roots. She proceeded to do the same with the rest of the steps. The words kept jumping around the board and mixing up the letters. So, she hurried even more. The sooner she got out of that class the better. Professor Grimm called that they had five minutes left. She just started shoving things into her cauldron.

When she finally bottled her potion, it was a delicate mint green. Unfortunately, every one else's was some various shade of red. Lily's was red-orange and James's was a deep burgundy. Sirius's was a true red. She sighed. She also had no clue what potion it was (or in her case, supposed to be). She just flipped through her potions book and wrote down the first potion she saw, shrinking solution. Just at that moment, the Professor slowly walked towards her. She shrunk down in her seat.

"So. _So._ You are the new girl. You are the new girl that thinks she is ready for my potions class. I don't know what they were teaching you at whatever place you came from, but it was not potion brewing!" he bellowed. "What even is this garbage? Don't bother bottling it," he said when he saw her attempting to attach a label to her bottle. "Evanesco," he said, and vanished her potion from her cauldron. He took the bottle out of her hand and vanished it as well. He looked at the label that was left sitting on her desk. "A _Shrinking Solution?_" he asked with disgust. Snape snickered. Sirius glared at him held up his wand, threateningly. "Perhaps you should talk to your Head of House before you continue here, hm?" he said in a smug manner. She felt her blood boil. How dare he. She knew her potion was crap, but that didn't mean he had to vanish it and tell the whole class. He took up all of the other bottles of potion. The bell rang just as she was leaving with the others, he coughed.

"Miss Lupin," he said, incorrectly guessing her name. "Tsk tsk. It seems looks are not everything." Sirius and James had to each hold one of her arms to keep her from lunging at him. She just wanted to wipe that smirk off his face. Unfortunately for her, they were much stronger and led her out into the hall.

"Asshole!" she said, the minute the door closed.

"I agree, that old bastard has gone too far!" Sirius roared.

"He'll be sorry he ever messed with us," James put in.

"I can't believe he said, Bella! What's that supposed to mean, 'Looks aren't everything'?" Annie said.

"That was completely out of line," Lily said. They all stared at Remus.

"What?" he said.

"Come on, she's your cousin, what are you going to do?" James asked.

"Well, I mean it was a pretty crappy potion," Remus muttered.

"Remus!" Bella exclaimed. "I know it was, but that doesn't give him any right to refuse to grade it and insult me! I can't believe you." She glared at him.

"Well, I've Arithmancy, so I'm leaving," he said finally. Bellissia watched him open mouthed as he disappeared down the hall.

"Yeah, I've got er…stuff to do in the library," Annie said as she scurried off. James and Sirius muttered that they had a break and wanted to go get some more sleep.

"Lily, how about going to the restroom with me?" Bellissia said at last.

"Sure. There's one on the second floor nobody uses, so it won't be too crowded," she replied.

"Perfect," Bella said as they started walking.

"Look," Lily said, "If you want, I can help you with potions, you know so you can get some extra practice."

"What like a tutor?" Bellissia asked.

"Well, not necessarily…" Lily began, uncertain.

"Oh, well I think I need a tutor."

"Ok, then. I'll help you," Lily said with a smile.

"Really? You don't mind?" Bella asked.

"Of course not! It'll help me as well!" she said.

"Thanks, Lily."

When they reached the bathroom, they pushed the door open and stepped inside. Bellissia heard an all-too-familiar sound.

"Urg, sounds like someone's sick," Lily said as she went into one of the empty stalls. Bellissia sighed. Not again. She hiked herself onto one of the sinks, leaning back against the mirror with her knees bent up so her feet could rest on the sides of it. She reached into her pocket and pulled out her pack of cigarettes. She lit one with her wand and inhaled deeply. She sighed as she blew out the smoke towards the ceiling. Unsurprisingly, Annie soon emerged from one of the stalls. She stared at her.

"Again?" she asked as she blew out more smoke. Annie glared at her.

"I love how you think you can guilt me into quitting when you're sitting there smoking!" she said. The toilet flushed and Lily came out and joined them.

"Oh hi Annie! Bella, do you really have to do that?" she asked, disapprovingly.

"Why, do you two want one?" she asked, with one eyebrow raised in question.

"No," they both said quickly.

"Figures. You two are both good girls," she said.

"And you, obviously, are not," said an unfamiliar voice. Lily groaned.

"Oh, go away Emalie," Lily said.

"Ouch, from the head girl?" a new voice said.

"Lay off, Kate," Annie said. The voiced emerged and Bellissia saw her three favorite people, Kate, Emalie and Marion.

"Oh my god, Bella, is it true you failed your first potions assignment?" Kate asked mockingly.

"What's it to you?" Bella replied, coldly, sliding off the sink and outing her cigarette.

"I mean I knew you were probably pretty stupid, but I didn't think you were a _retard!_" Emalie said, with her eyes wide in fake shock.

"Lay off, you slag!" Annie shouted in defense.

"Don't mind her, Emalie," Kate said, "She's just in a bad mood because the only one who will ask her out is that freak show Lupin." That did it. Before anyone knew what was happening, Kate was on the floor. It seems both Annie and Bella had punched her in the face. One got her in the eye, as it was now bright red and swelling, and the other got her nose, which was gushing blood.

"You can insult and threaten me, but don't you ever talk about my cousin like that! And if I catch you _near_ my things again, you'll be sorry you ever heard of Bellissia Angenelo," Bella screamed at her.

"BITCH!" screeched Emalie as she leaned down to help Kate up.

"I don't care what you call him, Remus is one hundred times better than you!" Annie shouted.

"You're going to pay for that, both of you!" Kate said, but, as she was clutching her nose, it came out more like "Nor gonin do pay for dat, bode duf do!"

"Come on, Lily, give them detention or something!" Marion pleaded.

"You know what, Marion, I think Kate got what she deserved," Lily said quietly. With that, Lily led Annie and Bellissia, who were both massaging their right hands, out of the restroom.

* * *

Later in the common room, Annie was retelling the story of how she and Bellissia punched Kate to the boys.

"…And then, Lily refused to get us in trouble or anything!" she finished gleefully.

"Wow, Lily I'm impressed," James said, as he turned to look at her. Lily blushed and smiled, pleased. Sirius caught Bellissia's eye and raised an eyebrow.

"I'll tell you later," she mouthed to him, and he nodded.

"Seriously, though, Bella. One of these days you're really going to get into trouble! What with potions and punching girls…" Remus began.

"Don't worry about potions, Remus. Lily offered to tutor me," Bellissia said, proudly. Sirius snorted, which he quickly turned into a hacking cough.

"What?" Lily asked.

"Hm? Oh, nothing, nothing. I'm sure you'll be a great teacher," Sirius said, trying to sound sincere.

"I'll show you! By the time I get done with her, she'll get an E on her NEWTs!" Lily said, determined.

"Uh, Lily—" Bellissia began, worried.

"Bet you five galleons!" Sirius said.

"_Lily!_"

"Done!" She said as she shook Sirius's hand.

"Lily what did you do? I'll be dancing in circles if I get an A! You know I suck at potions, how could you do that?" Bellissia said, her eyes wide.

"Oh, come on, I know you'll get better. Besides, it's my money, not yours," she said. Bella just stared at her with her mouth open.

"Let's go get dinner," she said. "Remus and Annie already left." They all consented and walked down to the Great Hall. Bellissia spotted McGonagall.

"You three go ahead, I've got to talk to her for a second," Bella said. They nodded and went inside.

"Professor?" Bellissia asked.

"What? Oh Bellissia, what can I do for you?" Professor McGonagall asked.

"Well, I've been having some trouble in potions…" Bellissia began.

"Yes, Professor Grimm told me about today's events," she said, her lips rolled in, until they disappeared.

"Er, I asked Lily to tutor me and I was wondering if you knew of any place for us to do that?" Bella asked timidly. McGonagall's lips reappeared to form a smile.

"Well of course! You may use my classroom, if you like, so long as you clean it up. I'm proud you are taking the initiative to ask for help. Miss Evans is a wonderful student and I'm sure she will be a lot of help."

"Thanks, professor," Bellissia said, surprised. Wow. That was kind of weird. She walked into the Great Hall and headed toward her friends.

"Hi, I don't believe we've met," a deep voice said as a handsome brown-haired guy stepped in front of her. She fought the urge not to roll her eyes. "I'm Gavin. Gavin Donovan."

Back at the Gryffendor table, Remus was staring intently at Gavin and his cousin.

"Someone needs to go over there and get her away from him," he said, urgently.

"What? Why?" Annie asked.

"Why? Because Gavin is an untrustworthy person and I know he has bad intentions."

"Oh come on—" James began.

"No, I'm serious. James, go pretend you're her boyfriend or something," he said.

"No, um, I'm kind of going out with someone right now," James said, awkwardly. Several seats down, Lily quickly began eating her chicken at lightning speed.

"Alright, you do it, Sirius." Sirius swallowed a chicken bone. Unfortunately, it got stuck in his throat and he began choking. It took James several hard hits on his back to dislodge it. Even chickenless, Sirius still looked sick.

"Why can't you do it?" he coughed.

"Gross! She's my cousin!"

"What about—" Sirius began. They both looked at Peter who was currently making exploding noises as he poured gravy down his mashed potato volcano. "Yeah, I see. Ok I'll do it." Sirius couldn't believe the things he got himself into. He just knew Remus was going to think he was being too believable and do something drastic, like kill him. He walked over to Bella and Gavin.

"So, I was thinking, you're beautiful, I'm beautiful, why don't we just mate?" Gavin was saying.

"Uh, excuse me?" Bellissia said, disgusted.

"_Date_, date. You know, like go to Hogsmead together," he quickly covered.

"Well that would be difficult, because I'm already mating-er-_dating_ her," Sirius interjected, sliding his arm around her waist. Bellissia raised her eyebrows.

"Yeah, you know how it is. I'm sorry Gavin," she said.

"I don't believe you!" Gavin said, suspiciously.

"Don't believe us?" Sirius said, accusingly. "Does this make you believe us?" he asked as he planted his lips on Bella's. They kissed for several minutes before they broke away.

"Baby, I'm so glad you're here to protect me," Bellissia simpered. Sirius fought the urge to roll his eyes.

"No, baby, I'm just glad you agreed to move in with me this Christmas," he said with a smirk. He got her back.

"No, you don't understand, I'm glad I'm having your baby!" she said, hugging him.

"A little too far!" Sirius whispered urgently in her ear. He was just praying Remus couldn't hear their conversation. Bellissia had now pulled away and stuck out her stomach.

"I think we should call him Sirius Jr.," she said, patting her belly. She had tears in her eyes.

"Yes, I've always wanted a little Sirius," Sirius said as he fought hard to keep a straight face. He was fighting a losing battle.

Gavin now had a very odd expression on his face, somewhere between shock and disgust.

"And we can dress him up in little robes and teach him all about Hogwarts!" Bellissia said, her eyes wide.

"Yes, well, I really think I must be going…" Gavin said hurriedly. Bellissia grabbed his hand and put it on her stomach.

"If you feel in just the right spot, you can feel him kick!" she exclaimed. Gavin wrenched his hand away and ran out of the Great Hall. Sirius looked around to see if everyone else found it as funny as he did. They were standing near the Ravenclaw table. Every person within hearing distance was staring at them. Sirius was shaking with silent fits of laughter as he placed his arm over Bellissia's shoulders and let her back to the Gryffendor table. Everyone there was howling with laughter.

"Oh my God Bella, that was classic!" James said as he wiped a tear from his eye.

"Now everyone's going to think Sirius knocked you up!" Remus said, but the effect was lost as he was still laughing.

"Yeah, that would be awful, I think it would really be the worst thing to ever happen if Sirius got me pregnant," Bellissia said seriously. Sirius elbowed her.

"Careful! You'll hurt Sirius Jr.!" Annie exclaimed and they all started up laughing again.

Back in the common room, Sirius and Bella were the only ones still up. She was sitting in his lap and he was absentmindedly stroking her hair.

"What if you really were pregnant," Sirius said. "What would we do?"

"Well we certainly wouldn't announce it for everyone to hear in the middle of dinner," Bellissia replied.

"Obviously. I could support us, you know. I've got a pretty good sized inheritance from my uncle and we could always live with my cousin Andie for a while," Sirius said.

"Why are you so worried about it? I promise you, I'm not pregnant," Bellissia said.

"I know. I was just thinking," he said. She leaned her head against his. "You are quite the actress, you know?"

"Well I was in theater back in the city. I got to be Maria in West Side Story," she said softly.

"That explains a lot." She kicked his ankle. "I was thinking about what you said, how sons are just like their fathers, and I disagree." She looked at him.

"Luca or whoever was a bastard, like my father. I would never hit you or hurt you in any way. You know that, right?" he asked.

"I know, baby. I was mostly just talking about Luca and his father. I know you are nothing like your family. I trust you," she said.

"Good. I mean it though. I would kill myself before I hurt you."

"I know," she said softly. "Come on, we should get to bed," she said pulling him up. They were both standing when Sirius stared at her.

"Jesus, how tall are you?" he asked.

"I dunno, like six feet."

"Damn, I thought I was tall at six two. Don't wear big shoes around me," he joked.

"Don't worry, I won't. Shorty," she said.

"Hey!"


	10. Hogsmead

**Finally, here it is. Sorry about that.**

Dear Magenta,

It's Bella! I miss you so much, sweetie! How's life in the hood? Tell Leo hi for me if you two are still together. You shouldn't worry so much, he's a really great guy, Maggie. Have you seen the asshole lately? I mean Luca, just to clarify. Tell him I have a new boyfriend and I've moved on. Maggie, I really like this new guy. His name is…well I'll tell you later in case this letter falls into the wrong hands. Hahaha! Seriously though, we have to keep it a secret because my over-protective cousin Remus wouldn't like it. Lame, I know.

Have you heard any more about my dad? I'm so worried about him. And Nana and Popi. Keep an eye out for them, ok? Just go visit them once or twice and tell them their pizza is the best ever. But Mags, I'm most concerned about my baby boy. How's he doing? Poor little Massimo. Have you even seen him around lately? Please just tell him that Bella's thinking of him. I feel so bad for leaving. He's only three! Keep a look out for him. He really needs his mommy now. Maggie promise me if you see him to tell him I love him and I'll see him soon.

Well, be sure to write back soon, and know I'm missing the City.

Love Always, Bellissia.

PS-It would be really awesome if you could send me some cigs. I know.

Bell,

You know I hate it when you call me Magenta! It's a _color_, not a name. I swear my mother must have been on crack when she thought of that one. Seriously though, you and I both know she probably _was_ on crack when she thought of it. Enough about me, though, how are you, girl? You have to send a picture of this mysterious boyfriend. Is he hot? Knowing you, he's a playboy!

Leo and I are still together, though barely. We hardly ever see each other anymore and he said he's thinking about joining the army when he graduates. Can you believe that? I really think he might be crazy. Speaking of crazy, I saw Asshole and Lila the other day. He was walking her to school. Weird, huh? Don't worry, I haven't told anyone about It. Neither has Lila. I ate lunch at Popi's Pizza just the other day. They asked about you. They really miss you, Bell. Same here. When are you coming to visit?

To answer your questions, no, I have not heard anything about your dad. Sorry. And yes I've seen Massimo. He's not doing so good. Don't get uptight, he just really misses you. He's actually staying with your grandparents for the weekend. When I went in the restaurant, he came running in and jumped on my lap. He kept going "Where's Lissia?". It was so cute. Don't worry about him though, he's got lots of people looking out for him. Leo has even had him over a couple of times.

Oh, I sent you the cigs. I figured you didn't want the whole school seeing them, so they are disguised as candy. It's just the box, though. I really can't believe you started again. I know I don't have much room to talk, but still. You did quit. I've already committed myself to being a smoker, and I'm not going to give up. Hahaha, I'm just kidding, _mostly_.

You better come visit! Love ya, Maggie.

Bellissia smiled as she reread Maggie's letter. Maggie was her best friend in the world. She really missed everyone in New York. Even that deadbeat Leo. She also really missed little Massimo. She sincerely hoped she would be able to see him this Christmas. Maybe when she was done with school she could take him away… She sighed and looked at the rest of the contents in the package. There were the cigarettes packaged just like Maggie had said. She did such a good job, James had asked her if he could have some of the candy. Of course, she had to say no.

Today was Friday, and it was the day before a Hogsmead weekend. Nobody could pay attention in class all day. That evening was her first day of potions tutoring with Lily. She was a little nervous, but she knew she really needed it. When the time came, she made her way to the Transfiguration classroom. Lily was already waiting.

"Evening, Lily," Bellissia said as she sat down on the floor next to Lily.

"Good evening, Bella," Lily replied. "I thought we would start out with a more simple potion and go from there. Here's the directions and the ingredients."

Bellissia sighed as she set to work. This was not her idea of a good way to spend a Friday night, but she didn't complain. When she finished, Lily examined the potion.

"It's pretty good, but you switched bremack for dormane. I wonder why that happened?" Lily said at last.

"I don't know, Lil. Maybe I'm just too stupid to be in potions."

"Don't _ever_ say that, Bella. Potions is just about following a recipe, like cooking! Do you like to cook?" Lily asked eagerly.

"I love to cook, but I don't go by a recipe. I make things from memory," Bellissia replied.

"Hmm, well, I'll work on it. We'll make a potions master out of you yet!" Lily said, smiling. "That's enough for tonight. Let's clean up."

As the girls worked on tidying the classroom, Bellissia's mind wandered to the other friendly girl in her house, Annette. That poor little blondie with a barfing problem. She wondered if Lily knew. Probably not. She really wanted to help the girl. She could think of too many girls she knew from her old school with similar problems. How did they get over it? She sighed.

"What's wrong, Bella? The baby acting up?" Lily asked with a smile.

"Oh ha ha. No, that's not what I was thinking about. Actually…" Bellissia trailed off.

"What is it?" Lily stopped gathering leaves into the bag and looked Bella in the eye. "You can tell me anything, Bellissia."

"Sit down Lily." Lily obeyed.

"If I tell you, you have to promise to never tell another soul as long as you live." Lily looked skeptical, but Bellissia stood her ground. "Promise."

"Ok, I promise, now what is the big deal?" Lily asked.

"It's about Annette. She has a problem." Once she started, it was easy. Everything just came rushing out. "Lily, I've caught her purposely throwing up her food several times and I'm really worried about her. When I confront her, she admits she should stop, but I know she can't do it by herself. I want to help, but I just have no idea what to do."

Lily was silent for a moment. Then she spoke. "I'll be right back."

Bellissia was shocked. "Lily, wait! Where are you going? You promised!"

Lily was speeding down the hall at a break-neck pace. As she rounded the corner, she stopped to catch her breath. How could she not notice? How could she be so stupid? Bellissia was here for just a few weeks and she figured it out. Lily had seen Annie almost the whole summer. She wanted to slap herself, or to go and apologize to someone. She knew she had to do something to help. Something to prove she cared about Annie. She took a deep breath and resumed her sprinting. The sound of her pounding feet seemed to be "An-NIE, An-NIE, An-NIE".

Finally, she reached the Hospital Wing. Madame Pomfrey was bent over a patient, but motioned for Lily to sit and wait. She did. She couldn't help noticing how cushy the chair was as she caught her breath. She wondered if it was new, because she certainly didn't remember it being there last year. Perhaps Madame Pomfrey had added it for people waiting, like herself. Finally Madame Pomfrey motioned for Lily to follow her into her office. As they entered, the door shut behind them.

"Hello my dear, how are you today?" Madame Pomfrey asked kindly.

"Oh, well, I'm not sick, as you might have guessed, but I'm here to talk to you about something, or someone rather," Lily replied.

"Go ahead, child."

"Well, I've got a friend, and she's always been concerned with her weight," Lily paused and took a deep breath. "And her mother has always put pressure on her to be thin." She lowered her eyes.

"I think I see where this is going, dear. It's ok. You can tell me anything. Nothing will leave this room," Madame Pomfrey said, taking Lily's hand. "I understand."

"Do you know? Oh thank goodness. I mean my friend, she throws up all the time, and I'm really worried."

"Well, it's alright, Lily. I can help you. We have lots of pamphlets here about eating disorders. You can come in and talk with me once a week. We can fight this! Together!" Madame Pomfrey said encouragingly.

"Wait, Madame, I don't think you understand, it's not me we're talking about," Lily said, slightly panicked.

"Oh, _right_, it's your_ friend_. Well, I'm sure we can help your _friend_ as well," she said.

"I'm serious, I don't have a problem!" Lily nearly shouted as she wrenched her hand from the nurse's grasp.

"Lily Evans you won't have a problem by the time I'm through with you!" Madame Pomfrey roared.

"It's my friend!" Lily shouted.

"Ok, well, if it is your _friend_ and not you, then tell me who it is so we can help them," Madame Pomfrey said, resorting to her calm voice.

"I-I can't tell you," Lily said. She sighed. She would have to admit defeat on that one. Pomfrey could just believe she had the eating disorder and she convince Annie to fight this disease. If helping Annie meant coming in here once a week for "counseling", well, she would do her part. But not alone.

"Madame, I admit it. It is me, but I have a friend who I barf with. Could I bring her in? We could do a kind of group therapy," Lily said brightly.

"Why that would be wonderful! But, darling, you need to tell me who it is so I can make us all nametags!" Madame Pompfrey said happily.

"Uh, why do we need name tags, we all know each other?" Lily asked.

"That doesn't matter it's the principle of the issue! Part of the therapy. Now, who is it?" she asked determinedly.

"Madame I cannot keep anything from you," Lily said. She sighed again. "You caught us. My partner in crime is Bellissia Angenelo."

888888888

"I still can't believe you signed us up for therapy. Annie is going to owe us so much!" Bellissia said. "But if you think I'm going to chant, you've got another think coming."

"What choice did I have? No way would Annie have come in with me, and this way we can get lost of good information and ideas to pass on to her!" Lily replied.

"Do you realize how many clubs I'm in now? The Get Bella to Pass Potions Club, the Teach Remus Italian Club, and now, thanks to you, the Bulimics Anonymous of Hogwarts. Well, maybe not so anonymous since we apparently have to wear _name tags!_" she nearly shouted.

"You know you love name tags," Lily teased. "By the way, are you going to Hogsmead tomorrow?"

"Yeah, it should be fun, even if you and Annie pair off with James and my cousin," Bellissia said.

"Hey, I tried to set you up with Gavin," Lily said, laughing. She was unable to keep a straight face when she thought of the events of yesterday.

"And look how that turned out, Lily. I ended up pregnant," she said, laughing as well. "But seriously, I really don't mind."

"Well, we'll just see. James told me we're meeting in the common room at nine so we can all head out together," Lily said.

"Oh, well if _James_ said so…" Bellissia teased, but she was cut off by a shove from Lily.

"We need go get to bed, tomorrow's going to be a long day with you around," Lily said.

"Lily, I'm so glad you've started to loosen up, because, no offence, when I first met you, I thought you were kind of bitchy," Bellissia said seriously.

"Well, while we're being honest, I can't say I thought any better of you. I think 'whore' was the first word that popped into my mind," Lily said.

"Glad we got that out in the open. At least now it won't be awkward!" Bellissia said cheerfully.

888888888

The next morning everyone woke up early. Ish. That is to say, everyone was in the common room at nine, but not everyone had brushed hair or bright eyes. The girls, however, especially Lily, had put extra effort into their appearances today. Who wouldn't want to look cute on an day in the town? Bellissia was no exception. She had her hair long and down her back and she spent extra time on her make-up. It was chilly today, so she wore a fluffy wool sweater with her jeans. As soon as everyone else made it down, the group left for Hogsmead.

There were many students taking advantage of the first day off campus, especially those who had a significant other. It seemed everywhere Bellissia turned, she saw some couple or another. Even Gavin had a new twiggy blond on his arm. Bellissia barely had time to reflect how quickly he gets over girls before she felt a warm hand slide into her pocket next to hers. She slowly turned her eyes to see Sirius walking beside her with his eyes forward continuing along cheerfully as though nothing was going on. She mimicked him, rolling her eyes. After a few minutes when he was sure Remus was occupied with Annie, Sirius leaned to Bellissia's ear.

"We should be able to get away in an hour or two. I know a place where we can be alone," he whispered. To answer him, she only smiled mysteriously before breaking away from him to catch up to the others.

Hogsmead was a weird town. And that was not just because it was British. Bellissia had never been to an all-wizarding town before, and, truthfully, it kind of creeped her out. There were no cars, but there were wide, cobblestone avenues and places to park a broom. All sorts of strange animals were tied to trees in front of the houses and everything smelled kind of old. She seemed to be the only one expressing anything but complete love for the village, so she didn't say anything.

James and Sirius immediately dragged the group to the joke shop named Zonko's. It was full of fireworks and fake wands. Next, everyone voted to visit the sweet shop. Bellissia was very impressed with Honeydukes'. Everything in there made her mouth water. She bought a large assortment of candy to take back to the castle with her. Sirius teased her about having a sweet tooth, but she didn't care.

When everyone had their pockets full, Lily suggested the Three Broomsticks. It was a quaint little tavern run by one of the student's mother. Rosie Nanette was the student's name, and Evangeline Nanette was the mother's. Most referred to the pub owner as Madame Evangeline; she was French. No one had ever met Monsieur Nanette, and no one had the nerve to ask after him. Some assumed he was dead, but most did not care, as long as Madame Evangeline continued to serve spicy fire whisky and soothing butterbeer.

Everyone in the group opted for the butterbeer, although Bellissia knew for a fact that all four of the boys had tried fire whisky. They sat at one of the tables and talked. The first sip of butterbeer was like falling asleep by the fire. Bellissia felt warm from the tips of her toes to the top of her head. She smiled contentedly as she listened to the others discuss schoolwork and how hard McGonagall's tests were. Sirius kept trying to catch her eye, but she pretended she didn't notice. She wanted a little more time to enjoy everyone's company. It was so nice to have friends.

Although she was sad to have left New York and all the wonderful people she knew there (Maggie, Mossimo, Grandmama and Popi), times like this made her really grateful for moving away. She knew that if she would have stayed in the city, she might never have left.

Slowly, the chatter died down and people started coupling off. First Annie wanted Remus to come help her figure out how to mail a package to her mother, then James wanted Lily's opinion on a broom he was considering buying. Which was ridiculous, as Sirius pointed out, because Lily didn't know a dustmop from a racing broom. It was now just Sirius, Bellissia, and Peter left. Sirius kept motioning that they should just ditch Peter, but some part of Bellissia told her that even if Peter _was _an annoying perv, he shouldn't be ditched by his friends. So, she shook her head and suggested the take a walk. Sirius graciously left a good tip, and they exited the pub.

The three walked down the street watching the other students. There was one girl who was walking by herself, with her head buried in a book. Her clothes were loose-fitting and frumpy. She had a blue scarf around her neck for Ravenclaw. Sirius grinned.

"It's Bookworm Becky, excellent," he whispered. Bellissia knew what was about to happen, but she couldn't stop it even if she wanted to. To Sirius's credit, Bellissia was kind of blowing him off today, and he hadn't pulled a prank in a while. So, he ran over to the poor girl and began walking behind her, taunting her.

"Hey Becky, read any good books lately? I hear there's a new one out on how to be an outcast that you might be interested in," he said conversationally. Bellissia heard this and quickened her pace to try and pry him away from her.

"The name's Rebecca," Rebecca snarled at Sirius.

"Tell me, were your parents social lepers, or are you just a genetic mutation?" he continued. Bellissia rolled her eyes. It wasn't even funny!

"Cut it out Black," Rebecca menacingly.

"Ooh, what are you going to do Becky? Nerd me into a curse?" he taunted.

"Come on baby, it's not worth it," Bellissia said, grabbing his arm, but Sirius only shook her hand off.

"Hex me, Becky, babe, I dare you," he continued. Bellissia knew she would have to act fast, and drastic. She sighed. This was definitely not how she preferred to do business. It painfully reminded her of a certain Italian boy she knew. Slowly, she stepped in front of Sirius and got in close. She rubbed against him and ran her hands over his chest. Closing her eyes, she ever-so-lightly kissed him on the collarbone and leaned in to whisper into his ear.

"Show me where we can be alone, baby," she purred. Sirius looked very convinced, but then threw her off of him onto the street. She laid there, astonished, as she watched a jet of blue light bounce off Sirius's shield charm.

"I don't need your help!" Rebecca screeched. That bitch had sent a curse at her! Luckily Sirius had seen it coming and pushed her out of the way.

"I was doing you a favor, bitch!" Bellissia yelled from the ground.

"I think you need to let me handle things," Sirius said to Bellissia, helping her up. "But Becky, hexing someone when their back is turned is not nice at all. And here I thought you were a goody-goody. Shame."

"She deserved it, slut!" Rebecca said. Bellissia's mouth hung open. Oh-no-she-didn't. In the next split second, Bellissia had lunged at Rebecca, only to be beaten by Sirius.

"No one calls her that!" he yelled at her as he held her arm behind her head. Suddenly they heard a small voice come from behind.

"L-Let her alone." It was a squeaky voice that a person easily forgets. Sirius looked around, bewildered, to see Peter standing with his chubby fists in balls. Sirius seemed much more surprised than scared. He even let her go. As she fell to the ground, rubbing her shoulder, it was Peter' turn to look surprised. Bellissia could not tell if he was surprised he was speaking up against Sirius, or if he was surprised Sirius actually complied. She suspected it was a little of both.

"She didn't do a-anything to you, S-S-Sirius," Peter continued, shakily. He gave Rebecca a faint smile, which she, surprisingly, returned. Bellissia was getting confused.

"Whatever, Sirius, let's go," she said, tugging at the belt loops on Sirius's jeans. Sirius didn't seem to notice.

"What's going on here, Peter?" he asked, bewildered. It was beyond his comprehension that someone would stand up to him. Well, Lily did, but none of his boys, not a Marauder. Peter's cheeks were slightly flushed, but he did not back down.

"Rebecca, would you like to go back to the castle with me?" Peter squeaked. She nodded her head. As they began walking off together, hand in hand, Sirius turned to Bellissia.

"What the—"

"I know, that was really weird. Perhaps we're not the only ones with a secret relationship," Bellissia suggested as she wiggled her eyebrows.

"No, Bell, you don't understand, Rebecca's last name, it's Lestrange. She's Rabastan and Rodolphus's little sister. That's why I give her such a hard time. It's a known fact that everyone from that family is up to their ears in the dark arts. She studies NEWT level curses, even though she's just in fourth year."

"Sirius, you don't know that. Did you ever stop to think she could be just like you? An outcast to her own familiy? She is in Ravenclaw, afterall."

"Bellissia, don't be naïve. You haven't seen what she can do. You saw the innocent, public Rebecca. The private Rebecca is a different person entirely. But I have no idea what Peter would be doing with her," he said.

"I still think she's just misunderstood. And who cares who Peter dates, lord know he doesn't care who you date," she said.

"I guess," Sirius consented, although he did not look entirely convinced. But Bellissia was right. What did he care if Peter suddenly developed the guts to stand up to him and started dating the spawn of Satan? No big deal. He tried to push Peter and Becky out of his head. He only knew of one thing that could distract him.

"I think we're finally alone, babe," he said to Bellissia. She smiled.

"Where do you suggest we go?" she said coyly.

"I know just the spot." He took her hand and led her down the ally to the main street. They made a sharp turn right and landed in front of Honeyduke's. To Bellissia's surprise, they went inside. Sirius saw the confused look on her face, but he put a finger to his lips and then pointed to the back. They walked through the crowded shop to the very back corner. Sirius led them through a doorway that concealed a staircase. Silently, they descended down the stone steps to a cellar of some sort. Sirius motioned for her to stay put, and he went down ahead. The coast must have been clear, because he spoke.

"Come on down, milady. Our own private storeroom," he smiled. She went down the steps two at a time and met his wide open arms. The minute their lips touched, Sirius completely forgot about Peter and Becky. All he could think about was the wonderful girl in front of him.

Bellissia got more into the kissing and pushed Sirius against the wall. He kind of liked her aggression. He pushed her back into the middle, harder. Her feet caught on one of the many wooden crates and she fell over. Laughing, she tugged him down to her on the floor. He was on top of her now, taking great pains not to put all of his weight on her. She noticed the dilemma and rolled, so she was on top. Her hands, by now, had found the buttons on his shirt and were working furiously. He peeled off her sweater, so she was left with her tank top. Suddenly, they heard a door open. They froze. A voice.

"Shhh, let me go down first." They stared at each other. That sounded just like Remus. Sirius immediately pulled out his wand and muttered something.

"Follow my lead," he mouthed to her. She nodded, she couldn't tell what he had done, but she trusted him, crazy as it were. Remus must not have seen them behind the crate, as they next heard footsteps and Annie's giggle, which was quickly silenced. Bellissia tried as hard as she could to not stick her tongue out at the thought of her cousin kissing someone. _Be mature,_ she told herself.

Sirius began to do the last thing she thought they should be doing right now: French kissing. Hard. She obeyed, but was more than a little confused. He pulled her completely on top of him and kicked her sweater underneath him. His hands began to work through her hair and eventually took down her ponytail. Now he began to bang on the floor and moan loudly. Bellissia told herself he wasn't mental and continued onward.

Soon, they heard the sounds of Annie and Remus kissing subside. They heard heavy footsteps coming toward them.

"Don't say a word and don't turn around," Sirius whispered quietly in her ear before he began kissing her neck.

"Sirius, is that you?" she heard Remus say. Sirius broke from Bellissia and sat up. He answered Remus over Bellissia's shoulder.

"What gives? We were here first, man," Sirius said, as though he had just noticed Remus was there. It really was too hard to not laugh.

"Who is that?" Remus asked eyeing Bellissia. Bellissia was shocked Remus didn't recognize her, but right now, she wasn't complaining.

"Hey, show some respect to my woman, she's shy," Sirius said indignantly. "Why do you think we're in a cellar?"

Remus was at a loss for words. He had kind of suspected Sirius had a thing for Bellissia, but from the looks of it, he was well over that.

"Hey, if you don't mind, we're just going to go down the passageway to the one-eyed statue. You can have the cellar, man," Sirius said. Remus just nodded. Sirius smiled, and with great skill, slid Bellissia off his lap, stood up, and lifted her into his arms. She buried her face in his shoulder. He kicked open a trapdoor that Bellissia completely had missed and began walking down the skinny stairway.

As soon as they were down far enough, the trapdoor closed with a thud. Sirius continued the rest of the way down the stairs. When they had reached the bottom, he set Bellissia down and lit the tip of his wand.

"What was that, Sirius? Why didn't Remus recognize me?" she asked him. He smiled.

"I charmed your hair blonde," came the reply.

"Excuse me, I think you just said you made my hair blonde, can you repeat that?" she asked him.

He sighed and pointed his lit wand at a puddle. The light and the water made a reflection on the floor, and when Bellissia looked over it, she saw herself, but with platinum-blonde hair. She screamed.

"What did you do to my hair?"

"Ah, come on! I saved us both!" he said stubbornly.

"Well, he's gone, change it back," she said, folding her arms over her chest. He held up his wand and waved it up and around. He mumbled a few things. He waved it back and forth. He mumbled some more. When he began waving it again, she grew impatient.

"If you tell me you can't change it back, you are going to be in a world of hurt!" she yelled at him.

"Woman! Of course I can change it back, if you would stop yelling at me, I could concentrate more!" he yelled back louder. She sighed loudly and began walking. "And where are you going?" he asked.

"Obviously this leads somewhere. If you're going to spend time thinking of how to change my hair back, you can multitask and walk as well."

Two hours later, they were at a staircase that went up to the castle, Sirius was worn out, and Bellissia's hair was still blonde.

"Why would you do something like that if you don't know the counter-charm?" she yelled.

"If it we're for me, we'd have been caught by Remus! It was my quick thinking that saved us both!" he retorted.

"Why did you have to change my hair color? Am I the new guinea pig for you to use when you don't know how to set things back?" she shouted.

"Let me some more. Stand still," he said, screwing up his face in concentration.

"If you don't get my hair back in the next five minutes, I'm going to Lily," Bellissia told him.

"Okay, fine," he said stubbornly. He waved his wand a bit more and said more spells, but, judging by the look on his face, her hair remained unchanged. She rolled her eyes and began walking up toward the school.

"Wait!" Sirius shouted after her. She turned. "If we run in to Annie or Remus, they'll know it was you in the storeroom." He ran up the stairs to her. "Take this," he said, putting his long, black cloak around her. Carefully, he put the hood up and tucked her hair inside.

"Bellissia, I am so sorry," he said softly.

"It's okay, baby. I'm sorry I got so upset. I just want my hair back," she said.

"I know, and I'm positive Lily will be able to set it right." She smiled at him. He reached up to tuck one more piece of hair inside. His hand lingered on her cheek. Bellissia tilted her head to it. He gave her a small smile and kissed her on the forehead before leading her up the rest of the way.

"Watch your step, I don't want you to trip on that robe," he said as he guided her by the elbow. She just grinned at him as she allowed him to lead her. When they reached the statue of the one eyed witch, Sirius helped her through.

"Almost there," he whispered as they began walking to the tower.

"I'm not dying, Sirius," she said back. He gave no reply, but he did let go of her arm.

Once they arrived at Gryffendor Tower, Sirius said the password, and they climbed through the portrait hole. The common room was relatively empty, save a few third years chatting in the corner. They walked up to the boys' dormitory. The door was shut, but there didn't appear to be any lights on inside, so they walked in.

"Finally we're back," Sirius said loudly. "Now we just have to find Lily." They heard a rustling near them. Bellissia flipped on the lights. There was James and Lily in James' bed. Lily's cheeks were bright red. She got up and attempted to straighten her robes.

"What did you need me for?" she asked calmly, after gaining her composure. Bellissia and Sirius were staring at her with their mouths open. Bellissia quickly closed hers and took off her hood.

"Blimey!" James said from the bed. Now it was Lily's turn to stare open-mouthed. "It was you!"

"Excuse me?" Bellissia said.

"Remus came in here an hour ago ranting about Sirius and how he had a new blonde girlfriend. He was so mad, he thought you just left Bellissia in Hogsmead by herself!" James told them.

Sirius looked uncomfortable. "Now, I would never do that. Remus just, er, walked in on us and I did some quick thinking by changing her hair."

"Except now he can't remember how to change my hair back," Bellissia finished.

"I see," Lily nodded. "Sirius, what charm did you use?"

"Er, Blancherate, I think."

"Hmm," Lily said in thought. "Did you try Emancipate?"

"Yeah."

"Maybe…hmm," she said again. She was massaging her temples. Suddenly, she stopped. Pulling out her wand, she yelled "Solvo!"

A jet a black light shot out of Lily's wand and hit Bellissia's hair. Her whole scalp began to tingle. When she looked in the mirror, she saw her hair gradually changing from platinum blonde, to golden blonde, to dirty blonde, to light brown, to medium brown, finally, to her natural black hair color. Her face broke into a huge smile.

"Oh thank you, Lily!" she said, throwing her arms around the girl. Lily was a little stiff, but then she put her arms around Bellissia. When they pulled apart, Bellissia couldn't stop messing with her hair.

"I think it's a lot shinier than it was before. What do you think, Sirius?" she asked.

"I don't know, it kind of looks the same," he said. He received an elbow in the stomach for that comment.

"So, are you two a couple?" Lily asked, confused.

"Are you and James?" Bellissia asked back. Lily blushed as James grinned.

"Aww! I knew it!" Bellissia said to them.

"You didn't answer my question," Lily said, her cheeks still burning.

"Yeah, we are, but Remus doesn't know," Sirius told them.

"What don't I know?" All four of them froze. Remus J. Lupin was standing in the doorway with his arms folded across his chest. He did not look at all pleased.


	11. Acceptance

"What don't I know?" Remus repeated. He met Bellissia's eyes. She quickly looked away.

"I'll say it," Sirius said at last.

"No, Siri—" Bellissia began, but Sirius put a hand up to silence her.

"Bellissia, it needs to be said," he began solemnly. "Remus, we have something to tell you." The rest of the people in the room tried to act natural. Finally, Lily took James's hand and led him out of the room. To everyone's surprise, he didn't even protest.

"Alright, we have two things to say," Sirius began. Bellissia wasn't quite sure where he was going with this, but she went with it. Scarily, she completely trusted Sirius to do the right thing. Was this love? No, she couldn't love someone who didn't even know who her father was or Massimo. Perhaps it was just a very strong fondness.

"The first thing is, we want to make sure you and Annie are _playing it safe_ if you catch my drift. I saw you in the cellar, don't lie!"

"Ew, Sirius!" Bellissia broke in. Remus looked disgusted as well.

"What? It's a legitimate worry! No one wants kids at this age!" Sirius was saying. His last comment caused her eyes to narrow, but she controlled her emotions. She knew he didn't mean anything by it.

Remus calmed down and looked at Sirius. "What's the second thing?" Sirius hesitated. He really didn't want to tell him. He had been dreading this since the first time he and Bellissia kissed. Then he had pushed it out of his mind. He had thought about it again that Sunday when he and Bellissia almost had sex. He had told her it wasn't right with Remus not knowing. He still felt that way, but that didn't make it any easier to tell Remus. He knew he had to. It was better for Remus to hear it from them than someone else.

"Bellissia and I…" he began. He gulped. This was so hard. "Bellissia and I are going…" Why couldn't he just say it? One word left. Say it! He took a deep breath. He could feel Bellissia's stare bore into him. He began again for the third time. "Bellissia and I are going out…for the quiddich team," he added hastily.

Bellissia was shocked. She desperately tried to make it look like this was not a new story, but she knew her wide eyes betrayed her. You would have to be a moron to believe that. Remus knew she hated sports. She sent up a silent pray to Mary for protection for when Remus goes crazy. But instead of shouting, eye-rolling, or a snort of disbelief, Remus gave her a clap on the shoulder.

"Good for you, Bella. I know you're not very athletic, but this will be good for you! You'll meet all the other players, get some fresh air, and Sirius can show you the ropes. This is really fantastic. I'm happy for you both!" Remus said.

James and Lily burst through the door the minute Remus was saying the last two sentences. They began hugging all of them and saying things like, "I'm so glad it's finally out in the open," and "Good, no more secrets." Sirius and Bellissia kept trying to signal to them to stop talking, but to no avail. Bellissia finally cleared her throat.

"Yes, Sirius and I will be going out for the quiddich team, so wish us luck before tryouts. Now, I'm pretty tired, so if you will all excuse me, I'm going to put on my pajamas." Remus couldn't help noticing her glare at Sirius as she left the room. The slammed door didn't help, either.

0000000000

It was three days after Remus almost found out about them, and Bellissia still refused to talk to Sirius. It was killing him. Every time he tried to approach her, she would glare at him and grab Lily's arm. Finally, at lunch that day, when he had tried yet again to talk to Bellissia, Lily exploded.

"Oh my GOSH, Sirius! Can't you see she doesn't want to talk to you? Just leave her _alone_," she said. Bellissia saw Sirius's eyes knit together in concern, and then at once, his stare hardened. His expression became blank, impossible to read.

"If that's the way you feel, Bellissia, then I'll just leave you to it. I'm sorry for wasting your precious time," he sneered at her. The way he talked to her…it was so cold. It hurt her more than anything, but she had to top it.

"I was wrong about you, Black," she spat. "You are just like your father." She heard James's spoon clatter to his plate, Lily's sharp intake of breath. She knew the second she said it that she shouldn't have, but it was out. There was no taking it back. She began to back away, and then stopped. She raised her head to meet Sirius's glare. It was one of pure hatred. It killed her seeing him like that, but for some reason, she couldn't make herself apologize or shy away. His eyes had turned from their once warm blue color to steel gray. They burned behind his heavy lashes. She saw him shake his head. Then he took one step back, turned and calmly walked out of the Great Hall.

Bellissia was not that calm. She screamed in anguish and threw her book down before stomping off. She didn't care if she did miss her classes, she was too frustrated. She began running. She had no idea where her feet were taking her; they seemed to have a mind of their own. She ran up stairs and down, through tapestries and past paintings. She finally stopped, panting. She backed up to a wall and began sobbing as she slid down. She suddenly heard something. Or someone. She quickly wiped her eyes and silently stood up. The noise was near, but somewhat muffled. She cautiously tiptoed down the hall. Pausing to listen, she noticed the noise was increasing in volume. It sounded like _thud thud thud thud_. She then noticed a door to one of the broom closets was shaking. The knob was rattling. Something told her to turn around and get back with her sobbing, but she couldn't just leave not knowing what was doing that. Perhaps she should have listened to the first voice, as when she threw open the door, she was met with a punch in the face.

Her world spun and began looking fuzzy around the edges. She couldn't focus on anything except a mane of rumpled black hair.

"Sirius," she croaked, "I'm sorry."

Sirius Black was officially freaking out. He had found this closet and had decided to get out some of his "pent up rage" by punching the door. Stupid? Yes. Painful? Very. Therapeutic? Amazingly. With each punch, he imagined it was his father, his mother, his brother, but never _her._ Bellissia had really hurt him with that comment, but he wouldn't dream of hurting her. And now, of all the broom closets in Hogwarts, she comes waltzing into his. He couldn't even answer her as he pulled her into the closet and shut the door. All that was running through his mind was "I-punched-a-girl, I-punched-a-girl, I-punched-a-girl,"

He lit his wand and looked at her. In the dim light, she looked positively angelic, with her hair fanned out around her head and her eyes closed. The only non-angelic thing about her was the shiner beginning to form on her right eye. He groaned. What had he done?

"Owww," she moaned. "That hurt, you bastard." He laughed, in spite of himself. She sat up and put her hand over her eye. "Did you hear me? I wanted to tell you I'm sorry. I didn't mean what I said. I was just frustrated that we didn't tell Remus about us. Can you ever forgive me?" she pleaded.

"Can you forgive me? I mean I _punched you in the eye!_ I am so sorry, I didn't hear you open the door! I—" but he was cut off when she attached her lips to his and began feverishly kissing him. He was shocked at first, but then he relaxed and kissed her back. They stood up and she shoved him against the wall. She was satisfied until she felt his hands on her hip. Slowly, they slid up her bare skin under her shirt, under her bra. She couldn't help feeling like getting punched in the eye was worth it if he did this to make it up to her. Maggie was right, make up sex rocked. She felt like he shouldn't miss out, so her hands found the waistband of his jeans and ran her fingers between them and his bare skin. She grinned on his lips when she felt him shiver. This was it. The time was right. To hell with Remus. She flicked the button to his jean open and unzipped them. Just then, she heard an unmistakable throat clear. _Heh-heh-hem._

She and Sirius froze. They both opened their eyes and slowly turned their heads to the door. Naturally, they saw none other than Remus, staring at them with a look of pure shock. All of a sudden, they became all too aware of how this must have looked. They frantically tried to untangle themselves, but this proved rather comical to anyone other than the three present. Sirius tried to pull his hands away, but, forgetting they were under a bra and a shirt, they went nowhere. The only thing this gesture did was make it incredibly obvious where his hands had been. He finally slipped one of his hands out from under Bellissia's bra and zipped his jeans. Unfortunately, Bellissia's sleeve got caught on the zipper. They both gasped and looked down at the mess, but they bumped heads in the process. As Bellissia rubbed her head, Sirius began trying to fix the mess that was his zipper. He was having no luck whatsoever. Finally, after several minutes, he glanced up at Remus.

Remus had a very strange look on his face. He really wasn't sure whether to yell or laugh. He just shook his head, he was speechless.

"Er, Moony, old pal, could you give us a hand?" Sirius asked cautiously. Bellissia just shook her head. Remus stared at them for a minute. Finally, he stepped inside the threshold of the closet, shut the door, and knelt down to help try to free Bellissia's sleeve. As he worked, Sirius became more relaxed.

"So, how was your lunch?" he asked conversationally. Remus looked up. "Sirius, now is definitely not the time," he said evenly.

Bellissia tried to suppress a giggle, but failed miserably. Both boys glared at her. "What? This is probably the funniest thing that has happened to us in a long time. You might as well enjoy it." Remus just sighed.

"Well, I hope you two were planning on _playing it safe_," he sighed again.

Sirius broke into laughter. "That's the spirit!" he said. What seemed like hours later, in reality it was just a few minutes, Bellissia's sleeve was free. She shook her arm a little, to get the feeling back, and thanked Remus.

"Not at all, Bella. But before we leave here, there are a few things we need to get straight," Remus said.

Sirius sighed. "I was afraid of that." He sat down and pulled the other two down with him.

"Now, start from the beginning. When did you two get together, when did you plan on telling me, and who else knows?" Remus asked.

"The first night at Hogwarts, eventually, and James and Lily," Bellissia ticked off.

"You mean to tell me that you were together all those times I couldn't find you? When I had you act like her boyfriend?" Remus demanded. Sirius just nodded. "Oh my God! Bella, it was you in Honeyduke's that day!" She nodded. Remus had a look of horror on his face. "That was what you were going to tell me, wasn't it!" he concluded. They both nodded. He sat back, exhausted.

"I'm so sorry to go behind your back, Remus. I just didn't know how to tell you. I knew you wouldn't take it very well, so I thought, I dunno, like I could keep it from you forever. It was wrong. I'm sorry," Bellissia said.

"Yeah, I never wanted to hurt you or anything, you're still one of my best friends, Remus. I hope you can accept me and Bella," Sirius said. Remus nodded. It was looking up…

"_YOU_ were the one that brought her flowers in the Hospital Wing, not Peter!" Remus said suddenly. Bellissia rolled her eyes and threw her hands in the air.

"Oh for goodness's sake, Remus either accept us or don't. But it would be better to accept us, because right now you're risking losing a cousin and a friend," she told him emphatically.

"Alright, alright," Remus began, "I'm sorry I got so mad, it's just hard. I was looking for you guys because you weren't in charms, and then I open this door, and my best friend is banging my baby cousin!"

Sirius stood up and helped Bellissia up. They each then grabbed one of Remus's hands and helped him up. They all then proceeded to walk to transfiguration. As they rounded one corner, Remus suddenly looked up.

"Hey, Bellissia, what happened to your eye?"

000000

Bel-

I'm so glad you told your cousin about your _brutally hot_ boyfriend. No kidding, do all English guys look like that? If so, get me on the next plane out of Newark!

I really don't mean to worry you, but things aren't going so well here. Your grandmother is sick, Bel. She begged me not to tell you, but I couldn't keep this from you. Massimo misses you more than ever. But the worst is Luca. I don't know what's going on, but he seems so smug lately. Yesterday, he told me it shouldn't be too long before I see you again. He also told me I need to start "looking for a dress." What the hell is that supposed to mean? When I asked that very question he just did his little asshole smirk and stalked off. I don't want you to do anything stupid, I just wanted you to know. Maybe this will give you some heads up.

Well, Happy Thanksgiving. This was officially the most depressing letter ever.

Your worst friend,

Magenta

Bellissia sat in the common room rereading the letter from Magenta over and over again. What was Luca planning? Why did he tell Magenta? He knows she and Maggie write to each other all the time. It was as if…as if…

"He wanted me to know," she said out loud. She sat up straight. Everyone was now staring at her. The Marauders and the girls were all doing homework by the fire. It was the end of November and everyone was eagerly anticipating the coming Holiday break. Bellissia was looking forward to visiting Remus's Grandpa Lupin in Scotland with the rest of the family. Sirius and James were going to James' house, Annie and Lily were going to Lily's house, and Peter was staying at the castle. James had offered Peter a room at his house, but he, strangely, declined.

Schoolwork had been getting better, Bellissia was still no potions whiz, but, with Lily's help, they were making small breakthroughs. Remus's Italian was improving by the minute. Recently, he wrote his mother a letter completely in her language. There were tear-stains on the reply he received. Annette had made little progress, but it was not for lack of effort. Lily had decided they should give it a rest until they got back from break, but they both knew Lily would pester Annette about it all day and night when Annie stayed with her.

"Who wanted you to know what, babe?" Sirius asked, concerned. He was sitting next to Bellissia on the couch. Close, but not close enough to make Remus uncomfortable.

"Luca," she said. Sirius sighed. He knew how much she hated him. He hated him too, but it seemed like that was all she was thinking about lately. The others clearly had no idea who Luca was, but they seemed concerned.

"Bella?" Remus asked uncertainly. She just shook her head.

"I'm going for a walk," she said at last. Sirius met Remus's eyes. After Remus nodded slightly, Sirius took off after her.

"Bellissia, wait," Sirius said. She stopped and held out her hand. He immediately grasped it in his. She then handed him the letter. He scanned it quickly. "I don't know what it means," he said.

"Me either," she said. "That's what's scary. And my grandmother is sick, and Ma—" she looked away, guiltily.

"Who's Massimo?" Sirius asked.

"No one you need to worry about, Sirius," she sighed. He looked like he wanted to protest, but he saw the weariness in her face, and dropped it.

They found themselves walking the grounds, hand in hand. It was relaxing, soothing. They were halfway to Hogsmead when they heard a squaking. Sirius looked up and saw something very large heading towards them in the sky. He pushed Bellissia to the ground and pulled out his wand. All the bird did was drop a piece of paper in front of them and fly off.

Bellissia sat up and reached for the paper. It was a letter, addressed to her. Sirius sat down next to her as she opened it.

Beautiful,

I miss you, baby. I need you with me. Enclosed is a one-way ticket to New York, first class, like the girl you are. Hop on the plane and I'll meet you at the airport. You know you want to come.

Love, Luca

Bellissia threw the letter down, disgusted. Sirius had read it over her shoulder. She felt him tense up, but what could she do about it?

"Yeah right I'm going to see that asshole," she muttered as she moved to Sirius's lap, her favorite spot. He relaxed and began rubbing her back. Suddenly, they heard a rustling sound. Bellissia turned around to see a tall figure clothed in all black. Her breath caught in her throat.

"Now, Bellissia, tsk, tsk, is that any way to speak to your fiancé?" Luca DiRenzo asked.


	12. Exes and Drunkeness

**Sorry for the delay, I know it seems like I don't care, but I really do! I've gotten a second wind, so hopefully the next chap will be out within the week.**

"You wish, Luca DiRenzo. I wouldn't marry you if you held a gun at me!" Bellissia shouted as she jumped up.

"That, my dear, can be arranged!" Luca snarled. He had an odd sounding accent. It was a cross between an American one, specifically Brooklyn, and an Italian one. It was slurred, yet distinguished. He seemed he would bust out with 'say 'allo to my lil' friend' at any time. This man seemed to radiate power, as though he had control of armies just like him. Sirius hoped, for Bellissia's sake, he was one of a kind. "What sewer (sewa) did ya find dis knuckle-head in?"

Bellissia leapt at Luca and began clawing him, Sirius tried vainly to pull her back. Finally, Luca roughly pushed her back into Sirius's arms. He had two gashes in one cheek, but other than that, looked no worse for wear. He sighed, as though Bellissia was merely a disobedient, yet annoying, pet.

"I'm Sirius Black, Bellissia's boyfriend, and if you think you're touching her again…" Sirius broke off.

"Yes, I know who ya are, Magenta has been kind enough to inform me of Bellissia's new _friend_," Luca said. "However, there is mores pressing matters at hand than what you will do ta me," he scoffed. "For starters, Bellissia, you need ta come with me ta start doin' wedding plans. Don't worry, invitations have alreadys been sent. I took the liberty of sending a courtesy 'nouncement to ya father."

"I said I'm not marrying you! And don't speak about my father in my presence!" Bellissia spat.

"What do you mean, wedding plans?" Sirius asked. "That's a little odd since she's _my_ girlfriend."

"Sorry Sam, but I don't believe I owe yous no explanations."

"His name is SIRIUS, and you certainly owe ME one!" Bellissia shouted.

"Oh, so sorry, Serious. That name sounds more like a mood ta me. Now, ta answer your question, well it really wasn't really no question. It was more of a… demand really," Luca began.

"Get on with it!" Bellissia demanded.

"Yeah, well, I believe we's need to finish dis privately."

"Anything you have to say to me can be said in front of Sirius," Bellissia said confidently.

"Besides, I'd be nuts to let her go off alone with you," Sirius snarled.

"That's right," Luca said as he walked closer to Bellissia. "How is dat leg doin'?" he reached for her inner thigh. Bellissia was frozen. Sirius lunged at him and pinned Luca to the ground.

"I thought I told you never to touch her!" he shouted.

"Get off me, you oaf!" Luca choked. "Bellissia!" Sirius finally let go of his neck. Luca massaged it as he stood up. "You are damn lucky I'm in such a good mood." Sirius just snorted in reply.

"To continue," Luca began. He shot Sirius a glare. "If ya want to see what's up with our marriage situation, I suggest ya come to New York and see for yaself. But I must warn ya, I can assure ya our marriage contract will be…binding."

"You're disgusting, I still don't believe you!" Bellissia said.

"Each to his own," he smirked. "Well, sadly I must get back to the City. I'm needed to, er, quiet a certain witness. Ya know how it is, doll. Now, I want you to take the ticket that you so kindly threw on the ground." She summoned the plane ticket with her wand, never taking her eyes off him. "Yeah, now I want yas to look at the date." She glanced at it. "It's for two weeks from tonight. One week before Christmas. You'll have plenty a time to make arrangements with your school. I will be expecting you," and with that, Luca turned and walked away.

As he swaggered away to Hogsmead, presumably to disapparate to New York, he turned around and shouted one last promise, "Doll-face, I highly suggest you come willingly. I would hate to have to send anyone to force you. Your face is just too pretty to mess with," and he was gone.

Bellissia stared numbly after him. Her eyes were shining, as though tears were just waiting to spill out. She shook her head and pulled out a cigarette.

"Sirius, what am I going to do?" she asked. It killed him to see her so broken by that thug. He sighed and sat down, pulling her down with him. She stared at him expectantly, the unlit cigarette still dangling from her fingers.

"I don't know, love. I just don't know," he said as he pulled the cigarette from her hand. With an expert flick of her lighter, he lit the cigarette and placed it in his own lips before repeating the gesture for her. She thanked him, but raised an eyebrow.

"I thought you didn't smoke," she said.

"Honey, what you don't know about be could fill a book," he told her with a bemused expression. "And I mean that in the best of ways."

"Well, same to you. You haven't even met my grandparents yet. But I still don't know what I'm going to do. You heard him, he threatened me! Maybe he was just lying about the marriage. But maybe he wasn't…" she rattled.

"Shh," Sirius said, placing a finger to her lips. "There is no need to worry about it tonight, okay? Let's just go back to the castle and get some sleep." She nodded and stood up. After helping Sirius up, they walked back to the castle hand in hand. Bellissia thought about throwing the ticket into the woods, but something in the back of her mind told her to hold on to it, that it would come in very handy in the future.

When they reached the Boys' Dormitories, everyone was already asleep. Bellissia thought they looked so peaceful, just laying there. She quickly pulled on some pajamas and got into her bed. Sirius flopped onto his. They laid there for quite a while before Sirius heard a little voice.

"Sirius!" Bellissia whispered. "Are you still awake?" Sirius rolled over to face her.

"I am now," he whispered back. He was about to be annoyed with her, but then he, once again, saw the scared look in her eyes. "What is it?" he asked, concerned.

"Can I sleep in your bed?" she asked meekly. He just smiled and threw back the comforter. She grinned and climbed in next to him, situating herself under his arm. They slept like that the whole night.

88888888

"Alright, Bellissia. All you have to do now is chop these lacewings and add them, then let the potion simmer for fifteen minutes, then…" Lily was rattling.

"Lily, stop," Bellissia said. "This is our last extra potions class of this term. Why don't we just forget about it and go have fun?" Lily looked hesitant.

"I really don't know," she said.

"Oh, come on! Let's go get Annie and some food and just hang out, us girls?" Bellissia begged. "Please?"

"Oh, alright," Lily finally gave in. Thirty minutes later, the three girls were sitting in an abandoned classroom surrounded by food and butterbeer. They were all having a pretty good time, especially Bellissia. It had been far too long since she had done stuff like this. They were all laughing as Lily impersonated Emalie the bitch—Lily really was a wonderful actress—when Bellissia began fumbling with her bag.

"What are you doing, Bel?" Annette asked. Bellissia just grinned.

"Want to make this party even better?" she said wickedly. She then pulled out two bottles of Odgen's Best Firewhisky. Lily gasped.

"Bellissia, students aren't supposed to have hard liquor! As head girl I need to set an example!" Lily lectured. To her surprise, Annette spoke up.

"Aw, come on Lily, live a little. I bet you never even tried it," she challenged.

"Whadd'ya say, Lily?" Bellissia questioned. She had ulterior motives for the firewhisky; to get as drunk as humanly possible. She had a certain scene in the forest she would love to forget for just one night. Luca's sudden appearance had been plaguing her for the past week. She still didn't know what she was going to do. As of right now, she had a fiancé and a boyfriend, and they were not the same person.

"Fine! But I don't want very much," Lily said with certainty.

One hour and two bottles later, Lily was nearly collapsed on the floor, Annette couldn't seem to stop giggling, and Bellissia was wishing she had brought more. She had never thought of herself as a heavyweight, but she guessed she was in too dark of a mood to have the fiery alcohol take immediate effect.

"Alright, les' play a game," Bellissia suggested. She sincerely hoped it would lift her spirits more than the spirits.

"Truth or dare!" Annette said immediately. She grinned. "I'll go first. Lily, truth or dare?"

Lily sat up and leaned against the wall. "Truth."

"Hmm…are you a virgin?" Annette asked innocently. Lily's eyes grew wide.

"Annette! You can't ask me that!" she shrieked.

"Well I just did, and you have to answer, you picked truth!" Annette replied.

"It's true, Lily. So, we're all dying to know…" Bellissia said.

"That's not fair! I'll only answer if you two answer," she said defiantly. Bellissia shrugged.

"Okay," she said without hesitation. Annette was a little more reserved.

"Oh, come on Annette, you opened up this can of worms!" Lily said.

"Fine," she grumbled. "But nothing we say can leave this room!" They all agreed.

"Lily's first!" Bellissia said.

"I…er…this is so embarrassing! I'm, sort of, saving myself for marriage," Lily said shyly.

"That's not embarrassing!" Bellissia immediately said. "I so respect that. But do you mean totally saving yourself, or just saving the full deed?"

"Well, I guess just the 'all the way' part. I mean, I have gotten close," Lily said, her cheeks tinged with pink.

"Wow. Who did you get close with?" Annette asked. "And how come you never told me?"

"Because it's an embarrassing topic! And James," she said sheepishly. The other two girls screeched.

"I knew it!" Bellissia said.

"Whatever, I knew it first. They were meant to be!" Annette said.

"Okay, okay. You guys' turn!" Lily said.

"I am definitely not a virgin," Bellissia said with a smile.

"How old were you?" Annette asked. Bellissia thought for a minute. She was seventeen now, so…

"I think I was, like, fourteen?" she said with uncertainty.

"You don't remember!" Lily asked in wonder. "It kind of seems like a pretty big event, you know."

"Oh, ha ha. I remember the event, I just don't remember my age at the time! Is that so hard to believe?" Bellissia questioned. "Matt. He was in the grade ahead of me. We had known each other forever. I was his first as well. It was so innocent and goofy."

"Goofy?" Annette asked with raised eyebrows. "It's supposed to be romantic and special."

"Well if you're so romantic, then, answer the question," Bellissia huffed.

"No," she said. Bellissia and Lily stared at her. "No I'm not a virgin." This was shocking, to say the least.

"Care to elaborate?" Lily said dryly.

"Not really, that's all I was required to answer, and you heard me. No, I am not a virgin," she said again with confidence.

"Oh, come on! We told you our stories! It's not right to leave us here!" Bellissia said angrily.

"Annette, really. You should at least tell us who!" Lily said.

"Yeah, we want juicy details!" gushed Bellissia.

"You two are the nosiest girls I have ever met," Annette said teasingly. "Fine, I'll tell you. Remus."

"Ahhhhh! Stop! Never mind! I don't want details!" Bellissia said, clapping her hands over her ears. She was desperately trying to get the image of her cousin and Annette 'doing the dirty' out of her mind.

Lily only laughed. "I think it's sweet! Did you guys talk about it, or did you just go for it?"

Annette smiled. "It was almost a year ago, at Christmastime. I stayed with him for the holidays because my parents were vacationing in Vienna. We were watching movies long after his parents had gone to bed. The topic just came up. I don't remember how, but we decided to just go for it. He carried me up to his room, even though he had to stop and take a rest halfway up the stairs!" The other girls giggled. "The next morning, I woke up to breakfast in bed and a huge bouquet of flowers. It was so sweet!" she finished dreamily.

"Annette?" Bellissia asked. Annette looked at her. "Remus is the nicest guy I know. And I couldn't think of a more perfect girl for him than you." Annette smiled at her.

"Have you done it since?" Lily asked eagerly. They all laughed.

"Nope. Don't get me wrong, it was fun, but our relationship is based on more than sex. We have much more fun just talking about random stuff and being around each other," Annette replied.

"How many times have you done it with Sirius?" Annette asked Bellissia.

"Zero," Bellissia smiled. Annette's and Lily's mouths hung open. "When it's meant to happen, it will. There just hasn't been the right moment yet."

Bellissia listened to herself. Why hadn't she and Sirius had sex yet? It seemed only logical based on her and him. They certainly both wanted to, that she was sure of. But every time they got close, something happened. Most likely, he would push her away saying that now wasn't the time. Other times, someone would interrupt them. She sighed and tried to stand up, but it seemed that right then, the alcohol chose to take effect. She found herself on her knees on the floor, laughing. This was all so funny!

At this point, Annette and Lily noticed that Bellissia is suddenly acting, well, drunk. They soon collaborated stories and discovered that since they each only had about a glass and a half, that Bellissia has most likely consumed near one and a half bottles of firewhiskey. They quickly sobered themselves up with the thought of the detention they will receive if they are caught drinking on school grounds and tried to figure out how to get back to the dormitories.

Annette and Lily positioned themselves one either side of Bellissia and attempt to pull her up, but she has quickly become lethargic, and is now moaning. After a few unsuccessful attempts, they give up. It is quite obvious that, although Bellissia is not a large person by any measure, they will not be able to carry her to Gryffindor tower alone. This could be due to their severe lack of upper body strength, or the fact that they were not entirely sober yet.

Lily took charge and ran to find one of the boys to help them. Only the Marauders wouldn't ask questions or nark on them. Annette thought it would be best of someone stayed with Bellissia. At this point, she was more of a danger to herself than others.

The Marauders were lounging in the common room when Lily burst in. She stumbled to James, and he noticed her eyes were having trouble focusing on his face. She smelled faintly stale, as well.

"Jammesss," she slurred, "You have to help us!" She now had the attention of all four boys.

"Lily, calm down, why do you need our help?" James asked, amused. Remus glared at him. Apparently he thought Lily's drunkenness was not something to be laughing about.

"It's Belllla, I think she's drunk!" Lily giggled. James snickered.

"She doesn't seem to be the only one, Lils," he told her. Sirius was also laughing.

"Lily, where is she?" Remus asked, the ever-concerned cousin. Sirius nodded through his chuckles. Peter stared at Lily, wide-eyed, not unlike a deer in the headlights.

"The empty classroom on the third floor, she's really bad. Anne-Anne-_Annie_'s there too," she said. "I need to lay down."

"Lily, I think that is a very wise idea. Now how about we let Remus and Sirius go find Bella and Annie and we get you to bed," James suggested.

"Ok, but I am not having sex with you James Potter!" she said a little too loud. Some third years gasped and ran upstairs.

"Alright Lily, you win," James played along.

"James, you seem to have the situation under control," Sirius snickered, "so we'll go find the other drunks." James just rolled his eyes as he helped Lily to her feet.

Sirius and Remus jogged upstairs in silence. Remus had a stern expression on his face.

"Will you lighten up?" Sirius finally asked him. Remus just shook his head.

"You don't understand. This is just so typical. I bet you ten galleons she brought the whiskey and persuaded Lily and Annie to get drunk with her," Remus replied.

"Is that really so bad?" Sirius asked. "I mean, me and James do the same to you and Peter."

"That's different. The girls don't have any experience in that stuff. They were good girls before this year."

"They were boring before this year. Remus, I think you need to loosen up. It is not a big deal."

"I guess so, I just had hoped she had left all that stuff back in the States," Remus sighed.

They soon reached the scene of the crime. Annette was sitting on the floor talking nonsense to Bellissia, who seemed to have gained a second wind. She was alternating between sitting down in exhaustion and dancing around the room. She seemed to have decided wearing shirts was optional, as hers was thrown off in the corner.

"Hey Bellissia. How're you feeling?" Sirius asked.

"I'm great! Oh Sirius I love you!" she said as she ran to him and forced her mouth over his. He pushed her away.

"Bellissia I think we need to get you in bed," Sirius said firmly.

"Annie are you OK?" Remus was asking the little blonde.

"I think I'm going to be sick," she replied. He leaned down and helped her up. Her legs seemed unable to support her weight. "I'm never drinking again!" she declared. Remus shook his head and led her back to Gryffindor Tower.

"Let's go, honey," Sirius said kindly as he began to lead Bellissia to the door after Remus and Annette.

"Nooo! Let go of me!" she shouted.

"Bellissia, you need calm down unless you want to get detention," Sirius told her. He pulled her arm roughly.

"You're huuurting mee!" she jerked her arm out of his grasp with too much force. Consequently, she fell backward and smacked her head on the floor. It made a nasty _thunk!_ sound. "Owww," moaned.

Sirius just sighed. He pulled her skinny ass into his arms as he carried her to her bed. She didn't protest this time.

"How much did you have to drink?" Sirius asked her once she was in bed. She squinted and held up two fingers.

He rolled his eyes. "You know I don't believe that."

She repeated the gesture, but this time added a word. "Bottles."

"Jesus, Bella, what were you trying to do?" Sirius swore. But she didn't answer him. She was already passed out.

0000000

Bellissia woke up the next day to a head that felt as though sledgehammers were pounding on it. She moaned and rolled over.

"Bellissia, wake up, I've brought breakfast," Sirius said, pushing toast and coffee under her nose.

"Sirius, get that food away from me before I throw up," Bellissia said forcefully.

"No way, you need to get up and eat. We have class today. It's Monday," he said.

"Fuck."

"Yeah, so get up, I'll go turn on the shower," he said. She sighed. Why, oh why was she so stupid? At least she had someone to look out for her. She smiled as she heard the sound of water hit the floor of the shower. She had the best boyfriend ever.

She stumbled through the day only half aware. If the teachers noticed, they didn't say anything. Many of the other kids were just as tired, everyone just blamed exhaustion. Annie and Lily, understandably, a little slower-moving as well.

As soon as classes were over for the day, Bellissia began making her way for her bed, but she was stopped just outside of the transfiguration classroom. Some fourth year.

"Excuse me, but are you Bellissia Angenelo?" she asked authoritatively. Bellissia just nodded, eager to get whatever this was over with. "Well, this is for you," she girl said, shoving a piece of paper in Bella's hand.

"Ms. Angenelo,

It had come to my attention that you wish to speak with me. If you be so kind as to come to my office as soon as you receive this note, I would be happy to chat.

-Albus Dumbledore

PS-It might be helpful if Mr. Black was to accompany you.

PPS-You will find that I enjoy sugar quills."

Bellissia sighed again. She seemed to be doing that a lot today.

"What's that?" Sirius asked, reading over her shoulder. She didn't speak; she just let him read for himself. "Well, let's go," he said when he was finished.

They walked hand in hand to Dumbledore's office, wondering what was going on, and why he needed both of them. When they reached the statue of the gargoyle, Sirius said sugar quills, and they ascended the long, winding stairs.


End file.
